Chapter 15: Consumed
Chapter 15 dedicated to: Peppermint Sticks
Raven found herself oddly at lack for breath as she stepped through the gates. Nervous reaction, she supposed. That didn't sit very well with the dark sorceress. None the less, she remained silent in her fears and shuffled slowly after her two friends who were obliviously chattering about the strangeness of their newest environment.
"Truly, Robin, this is a most odd terrain to have been artificially created. With the aid of magic or not, do you not find the detail of it strange? It must have been a very elaborate vision that thought this place up…" Starfire commented, flooding her voice with a slightly false cheerfulness. She truly was trying to keep her spirits up, but she was having quite a bit of difficulty.
"Yeah, I have to admit that this place is pretty elaborate. Strange, but elaborate. We need to make sure we stick together… Hey, Raven, come walk up alongside me and Starfire. We need to keep an eye on each other. All of us." He called back.
Raven levitated over to continue her trudging along next to the Boy Wonder. She stared straight ahead, listening intently to the soft sound of her feet on the rough rock beneath them. Above them the artificial sky spread a deep crimson that faded upwards into strong ebony. The entirety of it was dotted with soft, twinkling stars and the odd shapes of obsidian planets wreathed with scarlet crowns.
Around them, large platforms of rock seemed to hover in the air in a fashion that suggested they had been suspended, undisturbed for quite some time. Starfire and Robin continued to chat away and Raven was fairly sure that both were doing it to keep the other comforted. The empath took note that Robin had decisively dropped his earlier cold and down-to-business attitude and reverted to the earlier, more affectionate persona that seemed to keep Starfire at ease.
That brought a very, very small smirk to her lips. It vanished as quickly as it had come.
"Ugh…" Starfire moaned softly and clutched her stomach. Robin looked her way, concerned. Raven blinked in the red-head's direction.
"Starfire, what's wrong?" Robin asked. Starfire gave him a look that was something between a smile and a wince.
"I believe there is quite a lot of power building up now that we are so very close to the source of it all. The shards hurt me quite badly at the moment and my stomach aches horrendously…" Starfire muttered. She frowned, her tiny brows knotting and her eyes slitting. Raven turned her gaze back onto the ground in front of her.
She didn't wish to be unsympathetic, but off hand her head wasn't in the best condition either. Her temples were throbbing with a terribly splitting pain. Had she been the average girl on the street she would have been sobbing in pain. But Raven was the stoic type and she was not going to voice anything. Nor was she going to let her friends go on without her. Until she was doubled over on the ground, immobilized and vomiting, she was… pretty much ok. Or, that's how Raven saw it.
Robin had drawn Starfire near him and the girl was walking with his arm draped gently over her shoulders. Despite the obvious triviality of this gesture, Star appreciated it. She was really more concerned she would end up blowing something up with an unchecked amount of solar energy than she was concerned about a little stomach pain and some sore wrists.
"Hey… I can see the next gate. It's that gold thing out there, right?" Robin pointed a gloved finger out to a small golden gate in the distance. Starfire giggled.
"Indeed! It makes me feel better, seeing we are getting closer," She smiled. Robin nodded in agreement. Raven grunted, deciding it was about all she could choke out at the moment. God, her head hurt…
Starfire sighed and let her head loll to the side so it rested on Robin's arm. He glanced at her with a soft, lop-sided grin.
"I guess you'll be glad to see this all over with, huh?"
"Yes. I shall be very happy to see our home again,"
"I'm sorry I sort of dragged you into seeking out the power source, Star. I just got really worried. You seemed so scared after that nightmare. I had to do something. Anything. Perhaps I was too hasty. Who knows? I mean… look what this decision has done to Beast Boy and Cyborg already?" Robin huffed, suddenly irritated with himself. Starfire chuckled softly, a tiny note of fleeting bitterness in it.
"But… you were not the one who caused all of this to happen. I am the one with the shards… therefore I am essentially the cause of all of this. I suppose Vyxiis did not help matters much but I can hardly call it his fault," she mumbled. Robin let out a low sound, something rather suspiciously close to a growl or snarl.
"I didn't ever like Vyxiis," Robin stated bluntly. To his other side, Raven snorted.
"Yeah, but it wasn't because you were suspicious. You were just hormonal," she slurred. Robin glared her way, but it soon contorted to a look of concern.
"Er, whatever. But, um, Rae… you alright? You don't look so good…" he muttered.
Beneath Raven's hood there was an imperceptible flash of yellow. The girl touched her hood, assuring it was safely concealing her face from the others. The petite girl suddenly smiled to herself, revealing a row of jagged teeth. "Jussssst fine," Raven lisped. Her voice had grown more gravely. Robin stiffened and narrowed his eyes further.
"Raven… this is… this is your turn at a task, isn't it. Raven, don't give in," Robin spoke slowly, carefully.
"Oh… friend Raven, please do not…" Starfire added worriedly. She bit her lips as Robin slowly drew out his bo-staff, standing prepared with one arm still securely wrapped around Starfire's slender shoulders.
Raven moaned softly. "Ugghhh…. Nhhh… n-no no… no …no…" Raven rambled to herself. Her mental prowess straining to keep control. Four eyes flashed yellow in the shadow of her hood.
She turned to face her two friends, lips parted and breath puffing out in soft pants. Her eyes flickered back to their natural indigo. "R-run… I-I won't be able to…. Over-overcome it…. RUN!" Raven snarled, shoving her friends forward with a violent wave of obsidian energy that bordered between aggressive and desperate. Her distressed violet eyes fluttered shut and were replaced with four Trigonic eyes of burning yellow.
"Friend Raven!" Starfire gasped. Robin gripped the Tamaranian's arm roughly and pulled her forward in a sprint. He knew Raven well enough to heed her warnings. If Raven felt she would be unable to stop herself from hurting them he was going to listen to her and run. Starfire tripped after him, blindly looking back over her shoulder as Raven summoned ebony power to her fingertips.
The petite girl aimed an outstretched hand at one of the floating slabs of rock and consumed it with obsidian energy. She rotated her wrist to send the slab hurtling at Robin and Starfire. Starfire inhaled sharply.
"HA!" Raven plowed the slab towards them.
"Robin!" Starfire called, alerting him of the danger barreling down on them. Robin sent only the quickest of glances behind them before increasing his speed.
Raven's distorted cackle followed them as she released the slab and let gravity send it upon the two titans the rest of the way.
Starfire's feet left the ground and her eyes flamed emerald. "Robin, do not let go!" She ordered, rising above him. Robin's grip on her shoulder slid down to a firm hold on her wrist. Star grabbed his other hand and then heaved up into the air, jetting straight upwards so her auburn hair blustered behind her.
Robin watched the ground as the slab slammed into the ground they had just occupied seconds before. Starfire continued ascending. "I will fly us the rest of the way to the gate," she said. Robin coughed.
"S-Star… sweetheart, I don't know if you've forgotten but… Raven can levitate," he stuttered. A swishing sound behind them said that Raven had not forgotten this particular ability and was pursuing them by air. Starfire bit her lip.
"Dick, whatever you do, do not let go now," She breathed just loud enough for him to hear.
"Wasn't planning on it KoOOORRRIIIII!" he yelped as Star arched back and flew with her back to the ground. Robin was slammed down onto Star's body with enough impact to send most of the air from her lungs and make his back ache considerably.
Starfire twirled so she was again looking down and Robin fell forward.
"AAAHHHH!" Robin swung off from Star and was again dangling by his arms. Star made a sharp turn and was now the one behind Raven. Raven gracefully twirled around to face the two. Her eyes pulsed horrid yellow.
"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" the demon-possessed girl cackled. Black slivers whistled towards them.
"Eep!" Starfire lurched upwards, avoiding the attack. Robin gritted his teeth.
"Star, use your eye beams!" he ordered. Starfire dove down towards the ground sharply, skirting beneath Raven and shooting forward towards the gate again. The alien panted, her aerial acrobatics while lugging the Boy Wonder with her were somewhat tiring. She pressed her lips together and concentrated on letting a surge of the shard's stronger power replenish her.
"I cannot hurt our friend," Starfire trembled as she flew. Robin squinted his eyes behind his mask.
"Starfire, that is not Raven chasing us," he hissed. Starfire bit her lip and continued her wild flee from a rapidly pursuing Raven.
"But Raven is in there somewhere! Do you not remember that the other two were influenced by words over aggressiveness? Do you not remember it was then that they proved their loyalty?" Starfire panted. She was quite distressed.
"Starfire, Raven has already proven her loyalty. She told us to run away. Dammit, Starfire, we've got to get out of her and we're going to have to fight! Raven can't recover her control," Robin growled. Starfire shook her head stubbornly.
"No. Friend Raven will listen!" She whimpered. "AH!" Starfire shrieked as Raven lassoed her ankle with a blistering tendril of ebony power.
"Starfire, FIGHT!" Robin snarled. Starfire was jerked backwards, Boy Wonder with her. Raven kneed the red-head in the back and Star tumbled.
"UNGH…." Star throated as she hurtled down towards the ground. Robin made his grip on her left arm stronger and released her right, using his free hand to sweep out a grappling hook and hook it onto one of the floating slabs they were plummeting past. The line drew taught and Robin and Starfire were jerked up.
They flopped onto the slab and scrambled to their feet.
Raven dropped across from them on the slab.
"Hehehe…" she chuckled, raising two hands of glowing black above her head. Her cape fluttered back.
Her chakra flashed.
Her four yellow eyes glittered.
With a quick sweep downward of her arms, ebony force streamed out and screamed its way at Robin and Star. Unfortunately, Robin was standing a nit in front of Star…
"ROBIN! ….HHHHYYYYAAA!" Starfire thrust out her hands and two nearly invisible waves of her own telekinetic force swam around Robin, met together in front of him and deflected Raven's attack.
Slightly.
Raven's powers in the area of telekinesis were a great deal stronger than that which Starfire possessed. The black seemed to shatter through the opalescent and still apply enough force to topple Robin back off his feet and send him flying back a good three feet.
"Oof," Robin grunted and rolled to a stop on the edge of the slab. He picked himself up to see Starfire cringing and bracing for the impact of another powerful wave of obsidian power. He gasped as the black hurtled at the girl. "Starfire!" Robin whipped out a freeze disc and chucked it hard at Raven. It blipped and activated at her feet, weaving a case of ice around the girl's limbs.
However, the force had already been sent flying and plowed into Starfire. Only… it kind of… didn't. Robin watched as a force field of prism-like energy domed over Star. The obsidian wrapped around it and then both forces dissipated.
Starfire cracked open an eye and breathed a sigh of relief, struggling up to her feet. Robin stepped to her side. They simply stood, catching their breaths for a minute. Raven remained motionless in her ice confines.
"Thank God…" Robin exhaled and then brought his hand to the back of Starfire's head, drawing her face towards him so he could capture her lips.
Starfire and melted into his lips, momentarily relaxing in a sensation she was beginning to consider comfortingly familiar.
C-crack… c-c-c-crack-k…
Starfire and Robin parted the kiss swiftly at the sound.
"Hell no…" Robin groaned. The ice shattered in a flurry of glassy shards and black energy shreds.
Raven burst out with a snarl and charged at the two with blazing fists of obsidian.
"Star, fly!" Robin shouted. Starfire had her arms wrapped around his chest in an instant and they were shooting off the ground. Starfire flew the last few yards to the gate as fast as she could without killing Robin's more fragile Terran body. Had she been alone she would have been traveling within seconds of the speed of light. Speed was prided in the Tamaranian culture.
Starfire flew low to the ground, close enough that Robin had only six inches or so between his dangling feet and the rock beneath him.
Raven was in swift pursuit.
Starfire released Robin about a foot from the gate. She whirled to face Raven at Robin's side as the empath came soaring at them with ebony dancing off of her entire body and her yellow eyes glinting.
Robin let five birdarangs fly at once and effectively sent Raven flopping ungracefully to the ground on her back, the weapons pinning her cloak to the rocks in various places. Raven growled and struggled to unpin herself.
"Starfire, knock her out as lightly as possible. She doesn't want to hurt us. This isn't Raven. She's not trying that hard to get up, Starfire. This is our chance. You have to do it, now!" Robin urged.
Starfire took a few shuddering breaths, her eyes glowing jade and a starbolt clutched in her hand. She really didn't want to do this.
The Tamaranian hovered over her friend, eyeing her with intense sadness in her emerald pools. Raven squirmed, but was barely trying to free herself at this point. The four eyes were shut, cringing, and faded to two. They flashed open, still glowing yellow, and Raven grit her teeth.
"S-Starfire… listen… t-to Robin. I don't want… this… don't want… to hurt… you…" Raven gave an anguished yell as the four eyes reappeared and the yell contorted to a raging scream and the girl began to struggle violently to get up and stay down at the same time. She clawed at the clasp of her cloak, trying to unfasten it.
No, no. She didn't want to get up. But she was getting up. WHY! Raven's head was swimming in turmoil. Within her, she screamed for Starfire to end the pain the power source's dark magic was inflicting as well as save them all from this sick possession of her mind. Yellow eyes, yellow cat eyes. A tall, feminine figure. A shadow…
Starfire let the Starbolt fly with a small sob of her own. It impacted Raven's head and made the girl's indigo hair stand on end for a brief second before she groaned and was silent. Starfire breathed shallowly and floated backwards, hitting the ground and stumbling backwards into Robin's emotionless arms.
"You had to," he said simply. Starfire looked up at him, frowning. He sighed and let the frigidness of his statement fade and his face became as forlorn as her own. Robin buried his head into Starfire's hair. "Star, you're scaring me. You're really scaring me. You know we'll all get up alright in the end but you won't fight! Why won't you just fight? Kori… my Kori… Raven… the others… they'll be ok. You have to accept that you need to show them as much loyalty as they're showing you by just… fighting. You have to…" Robin squeezed her tighter to him.
"Starfire… please. Please fight," he pleaded. Starfire suddenly felt herself run cold. His insistence… Raven's task was over but… his lay ahead. Just past this gate before them now.
"No…" she whimpered. Robin pulled back to look at her darkly.
"If what we've seen is a pattern…"
"No… I cannot…"
"You have to. Starfire. You have to." He growled. Starfire fell apart then, sinking to her knees and holding herself. She could not fight Robin. She would not fight Robin. It was just so wrong… he was her very, very best friend… he was everything…
"Starfire, it's not that hard. You have to do this. You know that," he said it with the faintest touch of pain in his voice. But he would not let her see. He wouldn't. This was going to hurt him more than anything, but he had to remain as distant as possible now until this was over. Starfire needed everything and anything to make her willing to fight him. A frown graced his features.
"R-Richard… please, please… no. Let us go no further!" Starfire rambled. Robin stood. They'd fought a bitter alien prince, thrown a Gordanian slave master from their ship, traveled across the galaxy and knocked out every one of their possessed teammates. They were not going back.
"We're going." He said simply. Starfire whimpered. She pulled back onto her feet and stared at him with big green eyes. He scowled.
"I still love you," he said finally. Star continued to stare. He stared back.
She flung herself onto him furiously and planted her lips over his. "And I will love you always as well… I will… I will…" she mewed, a note of ferocity in her shuddering voice.
"Then let's go. And you. Will. Fight." He ordered. Starfire took two heaving breaths and then looked down. "Please?"
"I shall… do all that I can bear to…" she mumbled. Robin nodded. It was all he could ask.
"Then… let's go…" and he turned to the gate.
Author's Note: ... er, here's the new chappie! I hope you liked it! I'll try to get another up tomorrow. I plan on having this finished by Friday... so... yeah... Reviews are uber appreciated.
Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran