In no way do I own the rights to the Teen Titans or the game series MYST.
A/N: My apologies if there are any spoilers from the game MYST.
CHAPTER 3
The Next Step
"I realized the moment I fell into the fissure that the book would not be destroyed as I had planned. It continued falling into that starry expanse, of which I had only a fleeting glimpse. I have tried to speculate where it might have landed, but I must admit that such conjecture is futile. Still, questions about whose hands might one day hold my MYST book are unsettling to me. I know my apprehensions might never be allayed, and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written."
(A/N: This passage is actually the opening narrative of the game MYST. It can also be found in the novel MYST: The Book of Atrus, written by Rand and Robyn Miller, as the final words of the novel's epilogue.)
These words echoed throughout that "starry expanse" through which Beast Boy and Raven were passing. To Beast Boy the words were just an introduction to the game, but Raven could tell there was wisdom in the voice that spoke. Moments later they found themselves materializing on the pier of MYST Island.
Beast Boy took a brief look around at the sea to his right, the trees behind him, the steps, marker switches, and the gear-like object ahead, the door to his left and the buildings up the hill beyond.
"We're here," said the changeling.
Raven took in the sights as Beast Boy did. Looking at him with her hood covering her features, she asked, "Beast Boy, what did those words mean?"
"Nothing really," was his answer. "It's all part of the game's beginning, spoken by the guy we're here to see. Think of it as if that book passed through time and space and eventually found its way to Earth. Then we just happened to find it and pick it up and somehow found ourselves here after opening it."
There was a brief pause.
"It's really quiet around here," Raven observed.
"Yeah. Don't expect to find this place too inhabited, though. It was created for one man and his family to live on. This place was their only way to escape from someone who declared himself a god."
"I see," replied Raven not completely understanding. "So where do we go from here?"
Beast Boy walks ahead by the steps and stops at a marker switch. "See this switch thingy?"
"Yes."
"We have to go and turn them all on except this one. Come on."
Beast Boy turns to his left and climbs the steps. Going right he climbs more steps to the gear-like object. There is another panel switch there and he flips it up. After going back down, Raven and Beast Boy were now walking on a concrete surface passing a dome building on their right until they came to more steps. Continuing upwards they pass a sheet of paper lying on the ground.
"Don't worry about that," Beast Boy explained. "It's just a letter regarding instructions for another room. Let's just get the other switches."
Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire proceeded through the hall after having left Beast Boy's room.
"Robin, do you believe they will return before it is too late?" asked Starfire.
"I have no doubt they will, Starfire," he assured her.
They returned to the main room.
"So when do you think Batman will follow through with his plan?" Cyborg asked Robin.
"Soon I hope. It's been a couple of hours since I asked for his help on this. Let's go and train for awhile, and make sure we're as ready as we can be."
High above the surface of the earth a satellite drifted through the atmosphere and began to shift around until a transmitter dish aimed toward a target below. It hummed for many seconds, becoming louder. Finally it fired an invisible shot.
Cyborg ran through the obstacle course dodging and blasting away at everything getting in his way. Robin was at the controls of the course while Starfire stood at his side. She had already finished her session of training and was sweating and still catching her breath.
Cyborg stopped the moment his sensors began to pick up some disturbance from overhead. He looked up. Turning to Robin he shouted, "Robin, stop the course!"
"What's wrong?" Robin asked ending the training.
Cyborg didn't get a chance to answer as the ground vibrated and the surrounding water rippled roughly.
"What the-" Robin cried.
The tremor was brief but this greatly startled the titans.
"Oh, I do hope that the evil Trigon is not coming now," said a troubled Starfire. "We are not ready."
"I'm sure he isn't Star," said Robin. "It's too soon. Titans, inside!"
They all returned to the main room of the tower within a few minutes. Cyborg found the remote and switched on the television.
"… report about the tremor that just shook the city," stated a news anchorwoman. "In a moment we will go live to to Gotham City, to await a statement by seismologists at Wayne Enterprises. Meanwhile…"
"A tremor?" asked Robin in surprise. "He created an earthquake?"
"It probably couldn't have been done any other way," said Cyborg.
"I guess not." Robin rushed over to the communication panel to call up Batman. The image switched from the news to the Bat Cave. Batman was not present. Instead Alfred greeted him.
"Hello, Master Robin. I'm sorry Batman isn't here right now. As Master Bruce he is at the seismology facility overseeing the incident he generated for your city. He anticipated you might call and asked that I stand by to explain."
"How did he do that?"
"By satellite, Master Robin. If you watch the upcoming briefing, I'm sure you'll understand." He turned his head for a moment and then looked back at Robin. "Actually, go there now. They are stepping out."
"Okay, thanks Alfred." Robin returned the screen to the news.
Several seismologists stepped into view, followed by Bruce Wayne. One of the scientists stopped at the podium as the rest, including Bruce, took seats nearby.
Their last stop was at a clock tower just across the water from the island. Using a valve on the shore, Beast Boy had followed the instructions of the game and set the clock time that activated a path to cross the water. He could have morphed into a bird and flew over the water where the tower is, but he activated the path just in case. Raven and Beast Boy returned to the switch at the pier after setting the last marker switch at the clock tower. Touching the panel below, it popped open exposing a hidden compartment. Inside was a page.
"So what do we do with this?" asked Raven.
"Now we go and meet the man who can help us," answered the changeling taking the page. "This page will make it possible for us to get to D'ni and back."
(A/N: D'ni is pronounced dun' nee)
"D'ni? Is that another place around here?"
Beast Boy started up the steps as Raven followed. "Not exactly. We have to go through a book to get there. That'll be in the library."
They stopped at the entrance of the library. Raven turned to Beast Boy before going any further. She had to know. "Beast Boy, why are we here? What is this guy going to do for us?"
Turning to face Raven, Beast Boy explained. "His name is Atrus. (A/N: ay' trus) He's a writer who can create worlds just by writing words, phrases, and unique symbols into books. Those pieces create an image in the book that makes it possible to pass into worlds he calls Ages. Inside the library there's a book that will take us to where he is. While we can cross over to D'ni using that book, we need this page I have because we wouldn't be able to get back to this place if we didn't have it. Not that I don't trust your ability to teleport or your telekinetic abilities, but I feel we're kind of bound to the rules of the game, so we need it. It's a page removed from what is called a linking book that would allow Atrus to come and go between here and D'ni. Because it was removed from his linking book, he's been trapped in D'ni for a long time."
"So, what is Atrus going to do for us?"
"I'm going to ask him to write a book we can use to imprison Trigon. He's written prison books before."
"Good afternoon," the scientist began. "I'll only make a brief statement. We cannot answer questions as we must continue to analyze the data we've collected. A short time ago, a tremor occurred in Jump City. Although this was minor, we fear it is the beginning of a more severe quake to come. We are uncertain when such a quake will occur, however we believe it to be only a matter of a couple of days.
"We have spoken with the governor and the mayor, and they agree that an evacuation of Jump City and neighboring communities is recommended. This includes hospitals and prison facilities. Emergency personnel, including local National Guard, will be available to assist with the evacuation. Please take only what you must and evacuate accordingly. If you can leave immediately, please do so in order to lessen any risk of traffic congestion. That is all."
With that his fellow seismologists and Bruce Wayne stood and exited the briefing room.
Robin switched off the television. "I guess we'd better see to helping with the evacuation as well."
"Yes," added Starfire, "and ensure that the streets are clear of criminal activity. It will be bad enough that Trigon will cause much damage, but let us ensure that lesser threats do not make things harder."
"Good thinking, Star," Robin complimented.
"Man," put in Cyborg. "Tens of thousands of citizens in less than two and a half days? That's gonna be cutting it close."
"Let's call in some help," suggested Robin. "I'll contact Titans East and have them come as quick as they can."
"Oh, wonderful!" cheered Starfire. "We have not seen them in so long. Their help will be most welcome!"
Smirking, Robin just can't resist. "Right, and Cy and Bumblebee can catch up."
"Don't go there, man!" demanded Cyborg. "Or shall I spill the beans about…"
"Alright!" Robin abruptly interrupted. "I take it back!"
"I thought you might," Cyborg said with his own smirk.
Beast Boy and Raven enter the library. Ahead of them, placed within the wall, was a single three-shelf bookcase. One painting hung to the left of the bookcase. It depicts an apparent secret passage behind the bookcase. From there, placed on a wall mount beneath a lamp was a red book and a red page beside it. Between that and the door was a map of the island.
To the right of the bookcase was another painting, illustrating the library entrance. From there, on another wall mount was a blue book and a blue page beside it. Between that and the entrance was a fireplace.
"So which book do we need?" wondered Raven. "The red or blue, or is it on the shelf?"
Beast Boy looked at her. "We don't want to bother with the red or the blue books," he answered. "They are actually prison books, but already have people in them. We need to get to a green book, but first…" He walked up to the bookshelf and removed a grey covered book.
"What's in that one?"
"This contains the pattern we'll need to access the hidden room behind the fireplace. That is where the green book is."
Raven approached him as he began flipping through the pages. She saw that each page contained a different pattern. "That's a lot of patterns," she noted in monotone surprise.
"We'll only need one." He stopped midway through the book. "This is it. Come on."
It was a narrow space, better suited for one person. Beast Boy handed her the book with the correct pattern. "Enter this one. I'll morph to a smaller size so we can both fit inside the fireplace. Keep this loose page with you too."
Raven took the page and then Beast Boy morphed to a squirrel. Raven went inside and sat down. There was a button to the left. After Beast Boy entered the fireplace and positioned himself beside her right leg, Raven pressed the button and the fireplace closed. She then proceeded to apply the proper squares as illustrated on the page.
"What now?" asked Raven.
Beast Boy crawled around and up the back of her cloak to her left shoulder and morphed into a parrot. Raven rolled her eyes and thought, "Oh no."
"Push the button. Push the button. Squawk!"
Raven pressed the button. The fireplace jerked slightly and then began to rotate. It spun 180 degrees and stopped. Three items were stored here. In an overhead shelf was the green book. Below that were red and blue pages.
"Not the pages. Not the pages. Squawk! Open the book. Open the book. Squawk!"
Raven opened the green book to reveal the image of a bearded man wearing glasses. To her surprise he was moving.
End of Chapter 3.