The End: Chapter 4
Disclaimer: DC COMICS owns "Teen Titans." I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.
Her shoulder struck the door in her haste to get into her room. Candles lit themselves, and books were embraced by shadows. The stacks spread out in the room—ones she had made searching for answers—flew to pile haphazardly against the far wall. The book of Azarath rushed out from under her bed and into her hand. Two glass bottles shook and clattered together, lifting off the high shelf of the bookcase they sat on.
As the corks in the bottles squeaked free, she sat down heavily on the floor. The bottles turned over, heavy white dust falling around her in a wide, perfect circle. When the circle was complete, the corks flew back to seal the bottles. The bottles, in turn, went back to sitting on the high shelf. For a moment, she sat clutching the book to her chest.
Raven could easily believe that it had come to this. It was the only option left, as she had run through the gamut of possibilities far faster than she ever could have expected. Though she had been warned time and time again against doing what she was about to do, it was all that was left to her. She knew well enough what could lie ahead for her, but death seemed incredibly reasonable at that moment. Her death would not stop the end of the world, but she wouldn't have to see Starfire's stone tears.
She took a deep breath and crossed her legs, placing the book in her lap. Her fingers spread out over the book's cover, and she thought back to remember the spell.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." The dust around her began to glow, light dancing up at her words. "Karazon, Rakashaas, Enderer." The light reached up towards the ceiling. "Vasarik, Zendrian, Azarath!" A swirling portal opened in the ceiling above when the light connected. "Azarath, Azarath!" She was pulled into the portal, the light and magic fading when she was gone.
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Starfire floated slowly back into the chamber. She looked at each of her friends, and they had no need to ask anything of her. Robin turned, placing an explosive charge on the wall behind him. An instant later, the wall was reduced to dust and debris. The Titans went through the newly created doorway, trying to ignore the fragments of the mark of Scath that stared at them from the rubble.
The chamber they entered still echoed with the sound of the explosion. Stone stairs spiraled down into darkness so deep that Cyborg's lamp could not pierce through to the bottom. After a moment, Robin started down the stairs, his footfalls becoming the new sound that echoed in the vast chamber. Cyborg's steps came soon after, as did Beast Boy's. Starfire continued to hover just off the ground, staring into the darkness.
They walked down the stairs, somehow overcoming the dizziness they felt from walking in circles for minutes on end. Down deeper and deeper they went, never speaking, always looking for some sign that they were going in the right direction. Starfire held her hands to her chest, feeling her heartbeat flutter painfully.
As they made their way down the stairs, all Starfire could think of was the myriad of ways she had failed. She had failed to stop Slade. She had failed to protect Raven from his assault. She had failed to be strong in the face of the threat of this horrible darkness. But the most damning failure upon her hands was her failure to keep Raven happy.
Raven, who had saved her life time and time again. Raven, who kept her happy no matter what the cost. Raven, who she loved more than anything she had ever known. She was suffering, and Starfire could do nothing to help her. The thought made Starfire want to hide somewhere and weep. But, as her hands clenched into tight fists, she swore that she would do no such thing. She could not fail again, and so she followed her friends down into the dark.
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The light would have been blinding, had it not been laced with gentle blue. The wind was only a strong breeze, pulling at her hair and her cloak. She was flying, but only to move faster. She was being drawn towards the end of the long pathway, just as she wanted to be.
It was close. For an instant, Raven would have sworn that she saw the end of the path. Then, screeching, much like that of angered birds, filled her ears and translucent blue appeared before her eyes. A creature rushed at her, and somewhere in the back of her mind she recognized it as a guardian. She dodged the bird-faced creature and the three others that followed it. Her eyes automatically followed the creatures, looking to see if they would double back to attack again.
The growing flames behind her swallowed up the ghostly creatures. Raven could not hold back the gasp that swept past her lips, turning back to fly faster. The flames licked at her legs, and she flew even faster. Despite her speed, the fire roared past her. It reached up over her head and closed tightly around her.
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The sound of a screech echoed up from the bottom of the chamber. The Titans stopped walking, looking over the edge of the stairs. Ghostly blue light was rising up from the darkness, diamonds of red glowing even brighter than the blue.
"Get back!" Robin shouted. The heroes leapt backwards, scythes slicing through the air where their throats had been moments before. Cyborg immediately pointed his arm at the swarming creatures, the barrel of the sonic cannon forming at his mental command. He and Starfire let loose blasts of energy, striking three of the creatures and reducing them to vapor.
To their horror, the vapor reformed and the three creatures rushed at them once again. Cyborg dropped to his stomach while Starfire shot into the air. The creatures flew into the wall behind them, vanishing from sight. Beast Boy changed into a gorilla, grabbing at the creature nearest him with a roar. His hairy hands passed through the vaporous light that made up the creature's body. He looked at his hands, blinking in confusion.
The creature rammed the ape with its shoulder, knocking him over the edge of the stairs. Beast Boy flailed wildly for a moment before becoming a hummingbird, flying back up. Once safely over the stairs again, he turned back to his humanoid form.
"He hit me!" he squealed angrily, jabbing a finger at the offending creature. "I didn't hit him!" He paused, putting a hand to his chin in a thoughtful moment. "Not that I didn't try." With a hiss, the creature flew at him again. He screamed and quickly turned into a mouse. The swing of the scythe missed him, but the wind created by the fast movement ruffled his fur. Beast Boy gave a pitiful, terrified squeak.
Robin jabbed at the faces of the creatures that drew near with his staff, but his attacks were just as ineffective. The creatures continued to advance on him, low hisses constantly issuing from their fanged, beaked mouths. Star bolts dissipated the creatures long enough for him to leap over the vapor and regroup with Cyborg and Beast Boy.
"We need to move!" Robin shouted. He looked down the stairs, but a swarm of the creatures rose up out of the stone. Cyborg let out a noise that was a mix of a squeal and a snarl, firing a continuous blast. The stairs shattered and crumbled away. Robin whirled around to find another group of creatures rising up from the stairs behind them. He pushed Cyborg's arm down before he could fire a shot. "I've got a better idea!"
He ran and leapt from the stairs. Starfire dove after him, and Beast Boy, as an eagle, followed suit. Cyborg stood staring after his teammates, jaw hanging slightly open.
"How is that a 'better idea?'" He looked at all the creatures surrounding him and grimaced. "Aw, dude." Shrugging in defeat, he jumped into the darkness. The wind whistled in their ears as they fell deeper and deeper. Robin looked for any sign of another pathway, ignoring the burning in his eyes. In his peripheral vision, he could see blue light sweeping up from the seemingly bottomless pit. He turned his head slightly, something flashing for less than a second in his sight.
It was more than enough for him. He twisted, pulling a grappling hook from his utility belt in a swooping motion. In that same motion, he brought the gadget up, aiming and pulling the trigger quickly. The line shot out in, the metal end of the cable stabbing into stone. He jerked to a halt and pressed the trigger again, engaging the reverse motors. Beast Boy rose after him in a graceful arc, flapping his wings to catch up. Starfire grabbed Cyborg's hands and pulled him back up through the air.
The mark of Scath greeted them when they stepped back onto the stairs. With the metal teeth of the grappling hook buried deep, Robin took hold of the cable and yanked. The panel of stone carrying the mark fell at his feet, and he leapt through the opening it revealed. Beast Boy flew in after him, reverting to his humanoid form once again to run on two legs. Starfire tossed Cyborg into the opening, turning and firing star bolts to, at the very least, deter the creatures that swarmed after them.
They rushed down the narrow passage, Robin in the lead. When they came to three-way fork in the path, he only took a moment to decide which way to go. The heroes pressed on, running through the stone doorway baring the mark of Scath.
"What are we doing?" Beast Boy demanded. Hisses answered him, and he glanced over his shoulder. He blanched under his fur at the sight of the creatures so close behind them. "OK, other than running for our lives, what are we doing?"
"'The gem shall be his portal!'" Robin shouted in return. "That prophecy said that something is coming, and I'm willing to bet that it's Scath! We need to find that gem before Slade does! It's got to be down here somewhere!"
"How're we supposed to find it?" Cyborg asked. He fired a blast behind himself without looking, running that much faster at the sound of the angry screeches he heard moments later.
"Keep following the mark!" They came to another three-way fork, and each of them looked at the symbols carved over the doors. Beast Boy's jaw dropped as his pointer finger came up.
"There's no mark," he squeaked. They turned at the sound of Robin shouting. He was knocked to the ground, his staff managing to hold the creature's scythe just away from his throat. As his arms shook, he spared a glance toward the doors.
"The center!" he gasped. "Go!" He bunched his legs up under the creature and caught it in a tangible moment, kicking it away. He rolled backwards and flipped back onto his feet, running after the others. Not a second after he was a certain distance down the passageway, heavy stone crashed down to block the way behind them. They ran on, but paused when they heard nothing but silence. Cyborg went slowly to the piece of stone, reaching out and touching it lightly.
He rapped at the stone with his knuckles, finding it solid. He checked his scanners, looking back and forth at the panel on his arm and the stone before him. After a moment, he stepped away and gestured to Starfire. She hurled a star bolt at the stone, but it left little more than a smudge. They waited for a moment, listening for any sign of the creatures.
"They cannot get in," Starfire murmured.
"But we can't get out," Cyborg replied.
"DUDES!" They turned at Beast Boy's shout, walking quickly when they saw him frantically waving them over. "You've gotta see this!"
A room, seemingly carved out of the stone of the deep underground, stood before them. A hand rose from the center of the wide room, clawed fingers locked forever cupping something bathed in light. The light flowed from the ceiling, where the crescent moon in the sky was visible through a wide hole. Statues stood out from the walls, and those statues drew Starfire's attention. She rose from the ground and slowly flew toward the nearest statue.
"It looks like—Raven." In her mind, the cloaked statue's blank face gave way to Raven's soft smile and bright eyes. Starfire blinked and found that her hand was reaching out to caress the cheek that was not there. She brought her hand back to her chest, closing her eyes. "Raven."
"The gem must be in here," Robin said. His eyes were focused on the pillar of light in the center of the stone hand. He found his grappling hook once more and fired it, swinging across the empty room to the hand. A quick tug took the cable's teeth out of the ceiling, and he pressed the trigger to bring back the cable. As he clipped the gadget onto his utility belt, he turned and started toward the light.
The only thing he found was dust hanging in the light. He found nothing, even after scanning the area with a trained detective's eye. Robin frowned, crossing his arms and bringing a hand up to his chin.
"It's not here?" he asked himself. He looked at the pillar of light from the place where it hit the hand's palm to where it flowed from the ceiling and still found nothing. He scowled and turned to shout to the others: "It's not here!"
"You must be disappointed." Robin spun about, teeth clenching and eyes narrowing at the sound of the voice. Slade stood atop one of the clawed fingers, perfectly balanced with his arms behind his back. He leapt down into the hand's palm, walking toward Robin through the pillar of light.
"Where's the gem?" Robin snarled. He saw the quick glance Slade cast over the room.
"Not here," Slade said flatly. "But you would know better than I where it is."
"Enough tricks, Slade!"
"Tricks, dear boy?" Slade chuckled and leaned forward, only stopping when his mask was centimeters from Robin's face. "You should know by now that my tricks are not my words." His hands came out from behind his back, flames writhing in his palms. "These are my tricks." Robin lifted his cape quickly. The fireballs Slade threw at him did not burn through, but they managed to shove him from the stone hand. He flipped in mid air, landing in a balanced crouch on the floor below.
"Titans, GO!"
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Shadows rent apart the flames. Raven barely spared the vanishing flames a thought. It was not hellfire, as she originally feared. It had been another magic guardian to Azarath. Azarath, whose gate now lay before her. Incredibly bright light scribed the final lock of the gate: constantly changing magic sigils that would only open for those with holy blood in their veins.
She started forward only to met with resistance. The light flared and shoved her back, but she went forward again. She fought against the hard push of the magic, raising her arms to shield her eyes from the light.
"Let—me—IN!" Light flooded from the gem on her forehead and blinded her. Raven closed her eyes tight and abruptly felt that she was standing on solid ground. When she opened her eyes, the usually bright light of the setting sun seemed dull. A great city was spread out around her, white birds flying among the tall buildings. Everything was a muted gold, the sun's light reflecting gently from the walls. Only the streets were a different color, but they were the deep black of a newly laid street that had never been touched. It was so utterly Azarath; complete, eerie perfection.
She swallowed hard, mouth suddenly dry. After a moment of staring at the sky that was tinted gold by the setting sun, Raven looked about. Nothingness was all she saw. There was no sign of life, save the birds high above. The streets were empty, as were the windows she could see into. No sound reached her ears. Unconsciously, her shoulders hunched and her head lowered. She wrapped her arms around herself, biting her lip.
"Like I expected something?" she whispered. A white bird swooped down and landed at her feet. For a moment, the dove and Raven regarded each other silently. The dove cocked its head to the side once before spreading its wings and flying away. Raven ran after the dove, quiet hope growing as the bird glanced back at her.
She followed the dove through the streets, always keeping her eyes on it as it gracefully arced around corners. Abruptly, the dove began to rise. It circled slightly to rise further, and Raven stopped immediately. A cloaked figure with broad wings was carved on the face of the building the dove flew about. High above, more doves sat on the ledge of a balcony. A person wearing a white cloak stood among the doves, looking down. The dove flew up and landed on the person's proffered hand. When the person looked up and the light crept under the cloak's hood, Raven started to rise as well.
"Alena!" The person turned away, as if to leave, and Raven rose faster. "Mother, please, wait!" She landed on the balcony, arms wide and palms out. The person in the white cloak turned, and her face could have been Raven's. Her skin was the color of peaches, and her eyes were smaller, but Raven could see how someone could compare them as mother and daughter. A gem stood out on her forehead, and her eyes and hair were the same color. In Alena's eyes, Raven could see pain, and knew that her mother would be able to see the pain in her eyes.
"Mother, please," Raven said again. She took a small step forward, eyes locked with Alena's. "I've come back."
"My child." So somber was Alena's voice that Raven did not know if her words were laced with happiness or with regret. At that moment, she didn't care.
"You've got to tell me what I can do!" Raven said. "Please, I need your help!" Her hands fell to her sides and tightened to fists, her eyes looking at the ground. "I can't contact Chaos—he keeps sending me visions when I try!" She looked up, eyes wide. "Please, mother, I need help."
"We could not give you a home," Alena murmured. She stroked the dove's feathers gently, never meeting Raven's eyes. "And we could not give you help."
"I don't want to do this!" Raven said fiercely. "It's my destiny—I should be able to change it!" Alena looked into her eyes with those words, and Raven hated the pity she saw.
"No one can escape their destiny," Alena whispered. "You should know this, child."
"That's not what I was taught!" Raven snapped. "I don't believe that! I'll find a way to change my destiny!" Alena shook her head so slightly Raven almost did not see it.
"It is too late for you," she muttered. "Just as it is too late for Earth." Raven's eyes narrowed as she looked at her mother's face. She turned away, and when she spoke again, her voice was hard.
"I always wondered why Chaos took me away from here when I was a baby," she said. "Now I know why. It's not that you sent me away to protect me from the monks. You would have given me to them." She looked over her shoulder and Alena simply looked back at her. Raven's stomach knotted when she sensed the silent confirmation sitting in Alena's mind. She started to walk away, but not before spitting out one last word.
"Coward."
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Panting, Robin lifted his head. His eyes widened at the sight of the flaming hand in front of his face, sweat dripping from his brow. Adrenalin flowed into his body and gave him strength enough to roll to the side. He choked when Slade grabbed his cape and pulled. The ground cracked under him when Slade slammed him down on his back once more. The cape fluttered limply out of Slade's fingers.
"You know, I was willing to make this relatively quick," Slade said. He looked around the room, raising a hand. Crackling red light reached out from his fingers toward the other heroes lying on the ground. They were lifted into its embrace, and Robin was no exception. He hovered limply as the light coiled around his torso. The light touched his chest, and he went rigid. His hands curled into fists and his teeth clenched as he fought not to scream from the pain.
Despite the pounding in his ears, Robin could hear his friends. Cyborg and Beast Boy were growling and snarling, gasping when they needed to breathe. Starfire whimpered and let out a soft cry. Slade chuckled at the sounds.
"I was willing," he said. "But since you decided to fight…well, I can't be held accountable for your choices, now can I?" He chuckled again, and pain flared anew in their bodies. "If you don't struggle, I promise that this won't hurt—much."
"And I promise that it will!" Slade turned, eye widening at the sight of the stone block flying at him. The block carried him into a wall, and the light flickered out of existence. Pain vanishing the instant the light was gone, the Titans scrambled back to their feet. They looked about, and Starfire was the first to see the source of the voice.
"Raven!" she cried. In the center of the pillar of light, Raven stood with a scowl on her face, her eyes glowing white and the marks on her body glowing red. She waved her hand, and shadows flared up in front of the four on the ground. A moment later, the stone block exploded, and chunks shattered against the shield.
"Ah, Raven," Slade said. He walked out of the cloud of dust, brushing his shoulders clean. "So good to see you."
"Shut up!" She stepped out of the stone hand, slowly descending to stand on the ground. She advanced on Slade, but he did not give ground. "I told you to leave my friends out of this!"
"They came here searching for the gem," he replied. "Though they should have went looking for you if they wanted answers."
"Raven knows where the gem is?" Beast Boy asked in a whisper behind his hand. Robin shook his head, eyes wide.
"She is the gem," he muttered.
"Well done, dear boy," Slade said. "Now, I'd stay and play with you, but I am very busy making sure that everything is in place for my master's arrival. If you'll excuse me." The ground under his feet turned red and he began to sink away.
"You're not excused," Raven snarled. She dropped to one knee, plunging her hand into the ground as Slade's head slipped out of sight. As she stood back up, she lifted her hand, and Slade rose from the ground. His body was enveloped in shadows, his eye wide. Raven lifted into the air, leaning close to Slade just as he had done so many times before. "You tell your master that I won't let it happen. It's my destiny—I won't go without a fight." She twitched one finger, and Slade was shaken like a rag doll. "And you aren't going without being taught a lesson."
Another twitch of her finger sent Slade headfirst into a wall. He was wrenched away from the wall and flew spinning into the ceiling. As he fell from the ceiling, two stone blocks rushed in and crushed him. He was pulled from between the blocks and crashed around the room like a pinball. The loose stones that had been created by the earlier battle shot from the ground. The first stone struck Slade in the forehead, the second in the neck, and the third in the stomach. The remaining stones smashed into him as a single cloud, trapping him against a wall.
When all the stones were piled around him, he looked up. Raven hovered before him, four glowing red eyes on her face. An instant later, her two eyes were shining white. Her arms came up, and a raven made of shadows loomed from her body. It rushed at Slade, and he made no attempt to dodge. The moment the shadows touched him, an explosion enveloped him. The flame and smoke died away, and Slade stood bent and contorted. His bones popped as they reset themselves, and his head turned to look at Raven once more. She scowled at him, eyes narrow.
"I'm not afraid of you," she snarled. He chuckled, eye closing in amusement.
"That may be," he said, "but look who's afraid of you now." She turned, rage dissipating at the sight of her friends. They stood with their eyes wide and staring. The boys' mouths hung open, and Starfire's hands were clasped to her chest. Slade slipped away into the ground in the silence that followed his words, and no one tried to stop him.
"Raven?" Starfire asked. Raven looked away.
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They were gathered in Ops, having been transported through shadows back to the Tower. Raven sat on the couch, Starfire next to her. Cyborg and Robin stood before them, and Beast Boy leaned on the back of the couch beside Starfire. The questions were obvious, and thusly did not need to be voiced. Quiet prevailed a few moments more before Raven began to speak.
"The monks of Azarath are terrified of demons," she explained. "They hid the identity of one of the demons they fear the most by using the title 'Scath.' His real name is Trigon." She kept her eyes on her hands, which stayed firmly in her lap. There was no need to look up for her to sense the horror that struck her friends dumb.
"Seriously?" Cyborg asked. "That's who we're fighting?" He put a hand to his head and looked at the floor. "Oh, man."
"When I was working in Gotham, I had to help deal with a cult that called Trigon their 'lord and master,'" Robin murmured. "I never thought he was real."
"So, um, what's with the glowing in the dark?" Beast Boy asked.
"Time's running out," Raven replied. "Trigon's coming." She stood up, walking to the window with her arms wrapped around herself. "The marks are a spell. I'm supposed to be the portal that brings Trigon to Earth."
"But why you?" Robin asked. Raven tried to swallow, but her throat tightened painfully.
"Trigon…he's my father." Once again she felt the horrified shock of her friends and closed her eyes from the pain that appeared in her chest. When Starfire hugged her, she opened her eyes.
"What can we do to help you?" Starfire asked gently.
"I—don't know," Raven admitted. "I've been trying to find out, but I haven't found anything."
"Doesn't mean we can't try!" Beast Boy said cheerfully. Raven felt the pain in her chest double, but did not let it show on her face.
"Let's get some rest first," Robin said. "It's been a long day."
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Starfire walked into the room first, hearing the door hiss shut behind Raven. She started toward the bed, but paused when arms wrapped around her. Raven's fingers were warm as she caressed Starfire's stomach, and the kiss she pressed against Starfire's shoulder was soft.
"Raven?"
"Let me touch you tonight. Please."
The way Starfire kissed her was answer enough. For that instant in time, Raven felt peace. She let go of her fears and took in Starfire's warmth. She let her pain be soothed by Starfire's touch. For that instant, all that mattered was Starfire. All that mattered was her body, her breath, her scent, and her sweet soft voice. Bright and dark eyes stayed with each other, and everything that needed to be said could be seen in their silent gazes.
Later, as Starfire slipped away into content, exhausted sleep, Raven felt her weariness return. The fear of her destiny returned as well, as did the pain of not knowing what to do, but neither of these feelings held as much power as they had before. Her breathing slowed and her eyes closed, and she pressed herself close to Starfire. Hope fluttered in her chest, and that was enough to draw her into an undisturbed sleep.
—to be continued—