Chapter 7: Ashes to Ashes
Soon the screaming stopped and the sound of the erupting lava could no longer be heard. Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin reentered the chamber, but could not see anything, through the smoke and ash that still hung in the air.
"Raven! Beast Boy!" Starfire shouted through the thick hazy blanket in front of them. When no one answered Starfire continued her cry with Cyborg joining in and Robin calling out as loud as his injuries would allow him. Still no answer came. Slowly the ash settled to the ground and the smoke began to clear, gradually revealing the battlefield's landscape.
Where Trigon had stood, now stood a statue in his likeness composed of deep black ash. His arms were raised above his head and his face frozen in a twisted expression of the sheer agony that he felt upon his demise. As the Titans approached the black sculpture a sudden gust of wind blew through the entrance of the cave, causing the dark rendering of Trigon to crack and crumble, reducing the once destroyer of worlds to nothing more than a mound of black dust on the floor.
The three teens turned their eyes in the direction the statue had been facing and their hearts sank, when they saw an ash mound in the shape of an orb opposite of them. Tears began to flow from Starfire's eyes; Robin bowed his head as did Cyborg, who brought his hand to his forehead as tears streamed out of his human eye. "They cannot be gone!" Starfire screamed out in sadness and rage.
With that a crack began to form near the top of the orb. The crack expanded and steadily wound its way around the orb's surface like small lightning bolts. The three teens lifted their heads and noticed a faint blue glow being emitted from the expanding cracks. The wall of ash crumbled to reveal a glowing blue orb that surrounded an unconscious Beast Boy and Raven lying on the ground, hand in hand. The orb around them faded and Beast Boy awoke, soon followed by Raven. They both looked at each other, then at the now overjoyed faces of their friends. "FRIENDS!" Starfire exclaimed, letting go of Robin and flying over to Beast Boy and Raven, pulling them both into one of her patented bone crushing hugs. "You are unharmed!" she said tightening her grip on the couple. "Star….air…" Raven managed to squeeze out. "Oh I am sorry friend Raven and friend Beast Boy." Starfire said, releasing the pair from her grasp.
"Man, how did y'all survive that eruption? We thought you were goners." asked a somewhat dumbfounded Cyborg. "Looks like we had a little help." Raven replied as she and Beast Boy smiled and looked towards the area that was right above where Trigon had stood. The other three teens turned their heads in order to follow their teammates' gaze and saw, floating above the mound of ash that was Trigon, the blue translucent image of Akuma and Ami, masks off and smiling as they held each other in a small embrace and looked on at Raven and Beast Boy. The two teens smiled back and in a matter of seconds the image of Akuma and Ami faded out of sight like dust in the wind.
"They sure looked happy." Beast Boy commented then turned to face Raven. "Yeah, but they aren't the only ones." Raven said a genuine smile spreading across her face as she leaned towards Beast Boy until their lips were locked once more. They stayed like this for a good minute, ignoring the cheers of Starfire and the whistles of Cyborg and Robin; they sat there absorbed in one another. After they parted they stared into each other's eyes for a few more seconds before turn their attention back towards their teammates, smiles spread across the two teen's faces.
"Come on Titans. Let's go home." Robin said as Starfire helped him walk out of the cave, Cyborg following behind them. Beast Boy helped Raven up and they followed the others out of the chamber, down the tunnel, and out of the cave.
The newly risen sun's rays hit Raven's face sending a wave of warmth and brightness over her as she exited the cave with Beast Boy. She looked at the bright morning sky, then over at the green face of her love and smiled. For the first time in her life she could feel freely, without having to worry about the consequences. Trigon was dead and her soul was freed like a caged bird. She continued to smile as she looked forward towards the distant horizon once more. For the first time in her life she felt alive….
-THE END OF TODAY, THE START OF TOMORROW-
(Song: Alive by P.O.D.)Everyday
is a new day
I'm thankful for
Every breath I take
I won't
take you for granted (I won't take you for granted)
So I learn
from my mistakes
It's beyond my control
Sometimes it's best to
let go
Whatever happens
In this lifetime
So I trust in love
(so I trust in love)
You have given me
Peace of mind
I
feel so alive
For the very first time
I can't deny you
I
feel so alive
I feel so alive
For the very first time
And I
think I can fly (fly)
Sunshine upon my face (sunshine upon my
face)
A new song for me to sing
Tell the world
How I feel
inside (Tell the world how I feel inside)
Even though it
might
Cost me everything
Now that I know this
So beyond, I
can't hold this
I can never
Turn my back away
Now that I've
seen you (Now that I've seen you)
I can neva look away
I
feel so alive
For the very first time
I can't deny you
I
feel so alive
I feel so alive
For the very first time
And I
think I can fly (fly)
Now that I know you
(I could
never
Turn my back away)
Now that I see you
(I could neva
look away)
Now that I know you
(I could neva
Turn my back
away)
Now that I see you
(I believe no matta
What they
say!)
I feel so alive
For the very first time
I can't
deny you
I feel so alive
I feel so alive
For the very first
time
And I think I can fly (fly)
I
feel so alive
For the very first time
I can't deny you
I
feel so alive
I feel so alive
For the very first time
And I
think I can fly (fly)
A/N: Well that's it for this story. Pleeeeeeaaaaasssseeee review and let me know what you think.
Also thanks to:
Ryan L. Spradling
TDG3RD
cRiTiC123
They-Call-Me-Orange
DynaGurl
spiritual-s
rikagirls
& RavennBeastboy
for your reviews on the other chapters. They made me feel happy.