The End: Chapter 6
Disclaimer: DC COMICS owns "Teen Titans." I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.
Flames washed over the Earth. Land and water burned away into stone and magma. Life was ended countless times. The portal had brought forth Trigon, and his reign upon Earth had begun.
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Starfire lay still for many minutes, staring up at the darkness. She did not know how long she had been enveloped by the shadows, and the only thing she could think of was how familiar it seemed. It was a warm, comforting embrace that she knew from what felt like a past life. Her hands reached up toward the shadows, a name finally working its way past her lips.
"Raven." The shadows crumbled away, stone and dust that had piled at the edges of the shield falling to the ground. Starfire stood up and began to walk, unsure of where to go. She could not help but see the statues of people scattered amidst the rubble in the streets. She felt the heat of the flames that ate away at the broken buildings. Once or twice she looked up from staring at her feet in an attempt to find where she was, but the sight of the red clouds in the sky drove her eyes to the ground once more.
The end of a world was surprisingly quiet. The only things Starfire heard were her own footsteps and a faint rumbling that came from all around her. As she continued to walk, she could only think of Raven. Even though she had seen her vanish—even though she had felt her heart shatter at the sight—a lingering sense of something sat in her chest.
She stopped, her feet at the edge of a massive chasm in the shape of a circle. Far below, stone steps rose high into the air, ending above another pit in the ground. Starfire stepped off the edge, lowering slowly into the chasm. She moved slowly through the giant boulders that had been created when Trigon broke through to the ground above the chamber. Her eyes combed over every inch of the room, and she left nothing unexamined. She lifted star bolts to drive away shadows, reaching into cracks and fissures in the stone when she could not look closely enough.
It was not a physical sign that made her look about. In this place, the pulse that had been gently running alongside her own grew stronger. The only thing she found was a scrap of soft, slightly singed blue cloth. As she held it in her hand, she understood.
"Starfire!" She looked up as Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy leapt down from the ledge above her. They landed near her, and she could not stop the smile that came to her face.
"My friends!" she said. "You are unharmed!"
"So?" Cyborg grumbled. "I'd have to say we lost, man."
"But we are still here!" Starfire protested. "We are still together!" She held out her hand, revealing the blue cloth in her palm.
"Star, that's just some cloth," Robin murmured gently. "Raven's—gone."
"Please, friends, wait!" She held her hand out more insistently, and all of them looked at the cloth. "Tell me—what brought you here?" None of them answered, and Starfire's smile grew. "You were drawn here, just as I was, correct? There is something yet to be done!"
"What?" Beast Boy's voice was not skeptical, but increasingly curious. Starfire looked up from the cloth and saw the coldness in the faces of her friends starting to fade.
"We may still fight. Raven is not gone from us." The trio reached out their hands as one, and, as one, touched Starfire's hand. Darkness swirled into being from where they touched one another, growing into a sphere they recognized instantly. They pulled away slowly, but the shadows remained around each of their hands.
"Her powers," Cyborg murmured. He flexed his hand, a grin appearing as he felt the second heartbeat in his chest fuel the darkness.
"She gave 'em to us?" Beast Boy asked. He concentrated, tossing the sphere from one hand to the other. A laugh bubbled out of his chest while the second heartbeat gave him the control to juggle the shadows in his hands.
"Incredible," was the only word Robin could say. He gripped the shadows tightly in his hand, the second heartbeat throbbing in his fingers to keep the shadows contained.
"We have not yet lost," Starfire said. She cupped the shadows in both hands, smiling at the strength of the second heartbeat in her chest. "We must not give up."
"Good to know you're all still alive." They spun at the voice, finding a tall figure standing at the top of the stone stairs. "But that little display of power a minute ago did make me think you were Raven."
"Chaos?" Starfire whispered. The demon woman smiled at her and began to walk down the stairs. "Why are you here?"
"To help," Chaos said simply.
"Oh yeah!" Beast Boy cried, pumping his fist in the air. "Four eyes won't have a chance against you! We're gonna kick his big red butt!" Chaos chuckled, hopping over the last few stairs and landing before the Titans.
"I'd love to help you with that last part, but you need to fight him on your own for a while," she murmured. "I'm here to find Raven first."
"But she's gone," Robin said in protest.
"No—she's not." The Titans whirled immediately, Chaos turning with a smirk. Slade emerged from the shadows of an alcove, striding forward until he was a few yards away. Robin pulled birdarangs from his utility belt as Cyborg's arm reconfigured into the sonic cannon. Starfire took hold of star bolts as Beast Boy became a massive lion.
"That's enough," Chaos said loudly. She stepped toward Slade, holding one arm out to the side to stave off any attacks. Smirk still curling her lips, she glanced over her shoulder at the Titans. "I'll handle this." She turned back toward Slade, crouching down and taking hold of a large stone. As she began to walk forward, she tossed the stone into the air, catching it and tossing it over and over.
"All right," she murmured. "Let's pretend for a minute that none of you know me. The first thing you should know is that I'm really impatient. Another thing you should know is that I know quite a bit about many things—like this rock, for example. I know where and how hard to press to make it break exactly the way I want it to. Observe."
She held up the stone, revealing it as a rough-edged oblong. After turning it about a few times, she put it in the palm of one hand. She laid her other hand over the stone and pressed hard. The stone snapped, shards of it tumbling to the ground when she loosened her grip. She held it up again, and showed that it had broken into a sharply pointed dagger.
"See?" Chaos asked. "Just the way I wanted it. Now, as for my impatience." She vanished suddenly, and Slade found himself forced to his knees. A clawed hand held both of his arms behind his back, and the sharp point of the stone was centimeters from his eye. "You'll lead me to Raven, since you seem to know where she is."
"Fair enough," Slade replied.
"Good." Chaos tossed the stone away and let the man stand up. He massaged his wrists and brushed off his shoulders as she turned back toward the Titans.
"What are you doing?" Robin demanded. "He's the one that helped Trigon do all of this!"
"And he's the only one that knows where Raven is," Chaos replied.
"Then let him tell us where she is!" Beast Boy snarled. "We'll go find her!"
"It's not that simple," Chaos muttered.
"If all of you decide to go on this little rescue operation, Trigon is sure to know," Slade said. He sighed at the dubious glares he received. "He is all-seeing."
"Don't flatter him," Chaos growled. "His sight's limited to what he's concentrating on. If you want to help Raven, you'll make sure he's concentrating on you."
"Why can't you be the bait?" Beast Boy whined. "I'm always the bait!"
"No," Robin murmured. "It makes sense." Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire turned to stare at him. "Chaos is here too conveniently. If we attack Trigon, he'll think we're just trying to get revenge for Raven. If Chaos attacks him, he'll know something's going on behind his back."
"You'll distract Trigon," Chaos said simply. "Zombie-boy and I will find Raven." She turned to Slade, but paused. Her hand shot out and grabbed his, twisting his arm as she lifted his hand. "You know, that'd explain why you're not dead yet." She pulled a ring from his finger before dropping his arm. Examining the ring closely, she scowled. She turned it in her fingers, and it snapped in half. "Thought so."
"What was it?" Robin asked.
"A ring of Azar," Slade replied. "It would have protected you against Trigon's attacks."
"Now you're giving those damn monks too much credit," Chaos said. "The thing snapped just by me handling it. Besides, no one needs it." She smiled at the Titans. "You've got all the protection you need." She gave Slade a sardonic smirk. "And as long as you show me where Raven is first, I don't care if something comes up and rips off your head."
"If you're done making colorful allusions to my death," Slade murmured. "The longer we stay here, the greater the chances that Trigon will find us."
"Let's get going then." Chaos looked at each of the Titans in turn, ending on Starfire. Her gaze softened at the plea in Starfire's eyes. Before anything could be said, Starfire rushed forward and buried her face in Chaos's chest. Chaos smiled and patted Starfire on the head. "I promised Raven that everything would be fine. Don't worry. Go on." Starfire nodded and backed away. With a final parting glance, the Titans rushed up the stone stairs, leaping up onto the ledge above and vanishing. Chaos turned to Slade, smirking at him.
"Ready now?" he asked.
"Lead on, zombie-boy."
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"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Trigon opened his eyes to find darkness rushing at him. The blow the darkness gave him was painful, and he let loose a roar despite himself. Snarling, he brought his hand up and clawed through the darkness. The attack stopped, he cast his sight upon the four heroes floating before him.
"I see that a few insects have survived my wrath," he growled. "Even with the gift my daughter imparted unto you, you will not survive again." He lifted his hand, but paused. A grin bared his fangs and he lowered his hand once more. He leaned back into the throne he had made from Titan's Tower, his eyes glowing bright. "No. Not so soon. After so long an imprisonment, I would enjoy some sport. You will supply me with entertainment—just as you will supply your own greatest enemies."
Light lanced from his eyes, arcing and speeding toward each of the four. Before the light could touch them, however, shadows surrounded them and immediately stopped the beams of light. Trigon's eyes went wide with shock, and he sent out another burst of magic with a rage-filled cry. The shadows did not give way to the attack, or the four others that followed it. Snarling, Trigon slammed his fist down on the charred roof of the Tower. After a moment, he let out a hissing sigh, eyes narrow.
"My minions will have to do," he said. "But you are still no match for them." As the Titans floated back onto stable ground, legions of fire demons rose up around them. The four heroes grouped together, standing back to back.
"We can take 'em," Cyborg whispered. "I know we can this time."
"We've got to drag it out," Robin hissed in return. "Buy some time. The more he thinks we're having trouble, the more he'll be entertained."
"So…ham it up?" Beast Boy asked. He restrained the urge to grin when he saw the tiny nod Robin gave him. The fire demons advanced on them, and Beast Boy let out a squeal that was only half-false.
"Destroy them," Trigon snarled. The battle began.
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"Sit, zombie-boy." Slade blinked when Chaos pulled the boat's stone pole from his hands. When he did not do as she commanded, she put a foot behind his legs and shoved him. He stumbled, falling hard on the seat by the rudder.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
"Let's think for a second," Chaos said plainly. She lifted the pole in her hands and shoved it hard against the bed of the magma river. The boat was pushed into the river, traveling a great distance before Chaos had to push again. "You're the only one who knows where in the hell we're going." She brought the pole out of the magma, reaching out and stabbing it into the soft ground. "We're in a boat made out of stone trying to go down a river of magma." She pulled at the pole, and the boat was pushed hard enough to create a wake from the heavy molten rock. "I'm considerably stronger than you. This setup makes a lot of sense, doesn't it, zombie-boy?"
"My name is Slade," he said darkly.
"I DON'T CARE!" The boat was pushed forward even harder than before, and Slade fell back against the rudder's handle. He looked up to see six glowing red eyes glaring at him. When he blinked, she had only two eyes, but the glare remained. "I've looked into your mind. You sold your soul to Trigon, and he double-crossed you. The only reason you're leading me to Raven is because you want protection on your way to save yourself."
"What do you want to hear from me?" Slade asked defiantly. "Do you want me to beg for forgiveness? Do you want to see me on my knees, pleading for you to accept my most heartfelt apologies for what I've done to your little blackbird?" The tip of her sword was held steady and closer to his eye than the stone had been.
"If you ever call her that again, I will carve out that eye you treasure so much," she whispered. She sheathed the sword and reached out with the pole again, pulling the boat along. "Now steer." Slade did what she said, moving the rudder from side to side to guide the boat around the rocks that jutted up from the magma. They traveled on in silence for many minutes, perfectly comfortable in that silence. Despite this, Slade looked up when Chaos let out a sigh.
"What now?" he asked.
"How close do you think we are?" she inquired. Slade looked about, seeing the opposite shore and the pathway thereupon about a hundred meters away.
"Very," he answered. "Don't you see the path up ahead?" He saw her head turn briefly toward the shore.
"Ah. All right then." She pushed the boat hard again.
"Why didn't you see it before?" Slade asked.
"Duck." Before he could ask what she meant, her hand was on his head, forcing him to bend double. Struggling vainly against her hold, Slade managed to twist his head far enough to look up. A fire demon swept over him from behind, swinging its arm at Chaos. She let the arm strike her chest. The demon tried to continue on in its flight, but was jerked to a halt. It was drawn into Chaos, vanishing with a few mere sparks to mark its passing. Chaos took her hand from Slade's head, turning away to pull the boat along. "Stay low."
"And that was?" Slade asked. He slid into the bottom of the boat, only keeping his arm higher up to guide the rudder.
"I'm rather recognizable to other demons," Chaos answered. "If I walked around like I always do when Trigon's the only other demon, he'd notice me pretty damn fast." She turned slightly and tapped at her chest with a clawed finger, grinning. "Magic void, right here. Makes me seem like a blank space in the world to mister 'all-seeing.'"
"And it voids any magic that you come in contact with."
"Right. I absorb fire naturally anyway, so it works wonders on Trigon's little army." Another demon rose from the magma and flew at the boat. The moment it came into contact with her, it was sucked away. She chuckled, pulling the boat forward. Slade said nothing, choosing instead to remain quietly impressed.
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Trigon was torn between rage and amusement. His newest toys had not yet broken, still rising whenever they fell. Despite his previous anger at how unaffected the heroes had been by his magic, he could not help but smile darkly at the prospect of their fate.
Each victory was attained from a hair's breadth of defeat. Often times the heroes would come together in pairs, trios, or even as a whole to triumph over their adversaries. The sight of this exertion called forth a low chuckle from Trigon's throat. He sat back in his self-made throne and watched, patience to wait for their demise constantly renewed.
"Everyone all right?" Robin asked in a hurried whisper. Cyborg took hold of his arms and swung him about. The resulting kick from the boy wonder knocked off the head of a rushing demon.
"I'm good," Cyborg replied. "B.B.?" The green ram smashed his curled horns into the chest of the demon that had been slowly advancing towards Cyborg's back. He quickly shifted to his humanoid form, crouching low on his knees.
"Just fine," he said. "Star?" A star bolt shot past his pointed ear, cleanly blowing apart the demon that had leapt at him. Starfire gave the boys the smallest of smiles, quickly turning it to a grim frown.
"I am well," she murmured. They split apart immediately, that much reassured. Each of them could feel the second heartbeat taking away their weariness and fueling their attacks. Blows that managed to work their ways around the defenses the heroes lifted were always softened significantly, always failing against the magic they unnoticeably carried.
It was not a losing battle—only one that had to be dragged out for as long as possible. Because of this, the Titans acted as though they were on the knife's edge of defeat while standing firmly in control. Trigon remained entertained.
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"I'm curious about something." Chaos rolled her eyes at the man walking a few paces ahead of her. His face was turned slightly, his eye fixed on her as he walked blindly forward. "Why are you so driven to help Raven?"
"That's my business, zombie-boy," Chaos replied. "Just like it's your business why you try to ruin people's lives."
"But we both understand my drive in that regard," Slade said. "I want power."
"And you'll do whatever it takes for it, even if it means hurting people," Chaos said in a bored voice. "Blah, blah, blah. I know all about it. Just because I know the universal reasons behind the lust for power doesn't give you the privilege of knowing why I do what I do."
"Fair enough," Slade murmured. He turned to face forward once more. "If you must know, my asking was fueled by your nature. You don't hesitate to kill or maim, and the only reason I'm not dead or disfigured is because I'm useful to you. Despite this, you are more or less walking through hell and back to help a young woman who—apart from being a respectable hero—is equivalent to a grain of sand in the larger scope of your power and life. You can see how a person could be curious about the reasons behind this little endeavor."
"I can see," Chaos replied. "Doesn't mean I'm going to tell you anything, zombie-boy." Slade went quiet, playing his part as the guide. They reached a fork in the path after another long period of silence. The split to the left led downwards, winding to vanish around a bend far in the distance. The split to the right went almost immediately into a fissure in the wall they stood before. Chaos watched as Slade started to walk down the left-hand split. "Raven's to the right, isn't she?"
"For someone who required a guide, you certainly know quite a bit about where to go," Slade said. He turned to face her, and they regarded each other for a long moment.
"Learned a lesson about dealing with demons?" Chaos asked. She grinned at him, and he could not hide the narrowing of his eye when he saw her fangs.
"Indeed I have," he replied. They nodded to one another before parting and going down their separate paths. Chaos strode into the fissure, emerging on the other side of the wall after another long, winding walk. The pathway continued on, pillars of stone rising from the magma far below to support the slabs that created the path. Chaos looked about, finding a broken building standing at the end of the path. She chuckled when she saw the fragments of the stained-glass window in the front of the building.
Pace quickening at the prospect of finding Raven, Chaos went forward once again. She ignored the masses of molten rock sitting on the pathway, even as they turned into fire demons. They lashed out at her as she passed by them, but she felt only the faintest of heat from the sparks they left behind after disappearing. Chaos stopped before the shattered church, reaching out and taking the handles of the closed doors in her hands. The first tug she gave to the handles proved the doors to be barred. The second ripped the doors cleanly from their burned hinges.
A flash of white and a soft gasp drew her attention immediately. She looked up to see the edge of a white cloak vanishing through a hole in the back of the building. Dropping the doors, Chaos rushed forward through the rows of ashes. At the sight of the cloak, she had felt Raven's unmistakable aura. Both stunned and overjoyed, she did not cry out for Raven to stop. By the time she ran through the broken wall, the white cloak was a small spot at the bottom of the steep stairway carved into the slope.
Two leaps took her to the bottom of the stairs, her gaze locked on the edge of the cloak that threatened to vanish around every corner. She dodged through tightly grouped stone pillars, relying on the way she sensed Raven to guide her when the cloak finally pulled away too far for her to keep her eyes upon it. The pillars ended abruptly, opening to create a small clearing. She walked slowly toward the white cloak that sat huddled at the far side of the clearing, pausing briefly when she heard weeping moans.
"Raven," Chaos said gently. The soft whimpers stopped, and the little girl in the white cloak turned around to look at Chaos. The girl's face was streaked with tears that spilled from violet eyes. Short, dark hair fell around her face, the dark red gem on her forehead at odds with her pale skin.
"Kei?" Chaos nodded and crouched down on the balls of her feet, smiling at the nickname she hadn't heard in thirteen years. She chuckled quietly when the whimpers started anew.
"What's wrong, little blackbird?" she asked. Raven's small hands moved away from the knee they had been clutching, revealing a scrape that was slowly oozing blood. Chaos gave a low, sympathetic croon, sinking down on one knee. She held her arms out to the little girl, beckoning her forward with small waves of her fingers. "Come here." Raven stood up and toddled into the demon woman's arms, pressing her face hard against Chaos's chest and clutching at her shirt.
Chaos sat down and put Raven in her lap, gently rubbing her back as she rocked back and forth. Making soft shushing sounds, she put her hand over the scrape. The wound was healed in an instant, and she rubbed Raven's knee to sooth any lingering hurt. Raven's tears stopped, but she drew as close as she could to Chaos.
"This is a bad place," she whimpered. "I'm scared."
"I know," Chaos said. "I know." Raven looked up at her, closing her eyes when Chaos's thumb wiped the wet trails from her face. Chaos's voice was soft and reassuring, as was her touch. "Things are bad right now, but only for now." She smiled, putting her forehead against Raven's. "What did I tell you to do about bad times?"
"Wait," Raven said quietly.
"And?" Chaos asked.
"Hope," was the soft answer. Chaos smiled and stroked Raven's hair, letting the girl rest her head against her shoulder. For a time, they simply sat together, Chaos with a smile on her face and Raven with a look of worried sadness. When that time had passed, Chaos stood up, cradling Raven in her arms.
"Come on," she said. "Let's get you home." Putting Raven on her back to carry the small girl was a smooth motion that spoke of how many times she had done it before. In an equally fluid way, Raven wrapped her arms around Chaos's neck and her legs around Chaos's chest. With one arm supporting Raven's backside, Chaos strode out of the clearing and through the winding stone pillars.
"How far is it?" Raven asked. Chaos chuckled, reaching up and taking Raven's small hands in her own.
"It's a ways, little blackbird," she said. Raven's grip tightened as she pressed her face against Chaos's shoulder.
"Tell me a story?"
"Sure. Want to hear about my daughter?" Raven lifted her head, looking at Chaos in surprise.
"You have a daughter?" Chaos smiled and nodded, seeing Raven's astonished expression from the corner of her eye.
"I've never actually had a child of my own, but I think of her as my daughter."
"What's she like?" Chaos turned her gaze to the path ahead, smile widening at the curiosity in Raven's voice.
"Good."
"Good?"
"Mm-hmm. She's always making me proud of her."
"Why?"
"Well, she's smart, for one. I never had to tell her anything too many times before she understood. She's very pretty, but she just thinks I'm being nice when I tell her that. What I'm proud of most is how strong she is. She's always been powerful, and she always does the right thing. Down for a minute, little blackbird." Chaos leapt into the waiting stone boat, gently sitting Raven down on one of the seats. She picked up the stone pole and pushed away from the shore. Balancing on one foot, she gripped the rudder's handle with her toes and steered the boat.
"What do you mean?" Raven asked suddenly. Chaos hummed a wordless question, glancing down to find Raven looking at her. "About the right thing?"
"She helps people who need help. She's incredibly powerful, but she never glorified it. Hell, she doesn't even know how powerful she is. It's always been there, that power, but she's never tried to take all of it for herself. I think she's scared of it, actually." They traveled on in silence, Raven staring at the bottom of the boat. When they reached the opposite shore, Chaos put Raven onto her back and started to walk once more.
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As the battle continued to show no sign of nearing its end, Trigon's scowl grew. No longer did he consider the delaying of the fates of his enemies entertainment. Their constant victories were little more than increasingly irritating. He very briefly thought of allowing the heroes a few minutes more. The grim expressions on their faces and the sweat rolling on their skin made him believe that they would fall within those minutes.
It was the flicker of a smile he saw on each of their faces that sent burning rage to consume what little patience he had remaining. He saw the tiny smiles that came after every fallen demon and every time they gathered as a single group. With each smile he saw, his understanding of how long they had been fooling him multiplied. As his minions continued to fall, Trigon stood up.
"Enough!" he roared. The fire demons stood back in formation, and the Titans turned to look at Trigon. "Insolent fools! Do you truly believe that this play-acting will gain you anything more than my wrath?" Far below on the ground, Beast Boy bit his tongue before he could blurt out anything. The lack of an answer only served to enrage the demon further. He let his head roll back, letting loose a roar that rattled the stones on the ground. One clawed hand swung up over his head.
When the hand came down, the Titans were already far out of its reach. Trigon tore the ground apart, digging open a chasm with a single drag of his claws. The ground began to shake and rumble as the chasm opened through magic, red light pouring from the darkness of the underground. Swarms of fire demons, even larger than before, rose and spilled out of the chasm. They joined their brethren already standing around the Titans, hissing and snapping and moving steadily closer.
"Dudes—I don't think—I can kick—that much butt," Beast Boy panted. The sweat upon their skin was real; the second heartbeat could only take so much of their weariness away. Their muscles ached from overuse and from the bruises that were developing. Blood ran from cuts and claw marks. Beast Boy leaned heavily on his knees, ears drooping low and nose dripping red. Cyborg's power meter was flashing a warning light next to the readout of nine percent. Starfire was standing on the ground, sucking in deep breaths to try to compensate for all the energy used. Robin stood with only a staff, all other gadgets from his utility belt broken or simply lost.
"He's still focused on us," the boy wonder murmured. "We can keep it up even if we retreat." He nodded at Cyborg and Starfire.
"Then let's get our butts outta here!" Cyborg shouted. He lifted his sonic cannon as Starfire lifted her hands. The continuous blasts of energy cleared a path through the demons, and they rushed down that path. Trigon, so stunned by the sudden escape attempt, allowed the attempt to become yet another success. The heroes were away, running as fast as they could.
"Find them! Kill them!"
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"What happened to her?" Chaos continued to climb up the tower of stone. She glanced down at the rivers and pools and falls of magma far below and then up at the top of the tower. There were towers scattered all around, wide at the bottom but narrowing as the eye traveled up. At the peaks of these towers were flat tops. It would be easier to climb one tower and leap from peak to peak as opposed to following the winding, slow rising path along the edges of the magma. The path was bizarrely created: the towers supported the path as it rose into the air and zigzagged back and forth through the massive chamber. "Kei?"
"Hmm?"
"What happened to your daughter?" Raven repeated. Finally listening, Chaos paused. It was a moment before she began to climb again. She was careful in her actions, only one hand free to stab claws into the stone and create a handhold. She felt Raven's gaze on her face, but did not meet it.
"I left."
"Why?"
"I was scared."
"You were?" The utter surprise and shock in Raven's voice made Chaos smile.
"I was. What—I can't be scared?"
"You just…you never are. What scared you?"
"I love her very much—I didn't want her to get hurt because of me." Raven's grip tightened.
"I'd hurt if you left me." Chaos closed her eyes to banish the ache that suddenly arose in them. When she opened them again, she smiled slightly.
"I know I hurt her," she murmured. Before she could explain, however, the chamber began to shake and rumble. The largest pool of magma split apart, and fire demons flew from the gap. They rushed through the air, smashing through any rock that stood in their way. Chaos jerked backwards to dodge a demon that came blindly at her hands, digging in with the claws on her toes. Another demon smashed into the stone her feet were on, breaking through it and throwing Chaos from her place.
Raven pressed her face against Chaos's neck, tightening her grip as they fell through the air. A flip brought them out of their wild tumble, and Chaos reached out with her hands and feet. Her grip was too tight, and they continued to slide down as her claws tore through the stone. She loosened her hands, pulling her claws back. Her fingers automatically snapped closed on the first ledge they sensed, claws stabbing into the stone, and the slide was instantly stopped.
The jerk was nothing to Chaos's grip, but everything to Raven's. Her fingers slipped away from their place around her wrists when her arms struck Chaos's neck, and she continued to fall. Chaos felt the girl's small fingers scrabble at her shoulders, turning to look back. She saw Raven falling away from her, and her heart shuddered horribly.
"RAVEN!" Eyes wide and face aghast, she tore a hand away from the stone, reaching out as far as she could. Her fingers closed on air.
"KEI!" The scream drove a knife into Chaos's very being. Raven was falling, hands outstretched, toward the chasm filled with magma—and Chaos was letting her. Such a thought tried to make itself known and plunge another knife into Chaos, but she struck it down before it could do anything. She crouched down, leaping from the wall with enough force to shatter the stone under her feet.
Raven clenched her eyes shut when she felt the heat of the magma on her back. She curled into a ball, hands clasping together at her chest. Breath refused to come to her, and the heat surrounded her as she fell into the void. Clawed hands took hold of her shoulders, pulling her close. The fall was abruptly stopped once more, but the arms that held her near did not let her slip away. Raven opened her eyes and looked up.
"Hold—on." Chaos's voice was nothing more than a rasp of agony. Her skin had gone white, her eyes narrow, and her face drawn. Raven stared, horrified, at the incredible pain she saw. When Chaos leapt upward, her gaze was drawn naturally down. She saw the foot-shaped indentations in the magma that were dancing with flames. One arm came away from her, the other arm holding her that much more tightly. When they stopped once more, Raven turned.
She watched Chaos plunge her left hand into the magma and dig her claws into the soft rock. She heard the howl that Chaos held back behind her clenched teeth. Chaos jumped again, leaving behind fiery footprints that were washed away in the flow of the magma. She turned in the air, landing on the opposite wall. Her hand again went into the molten rock, and she again held a cry back behind her fangs. Twice more she leapt, scaling the walls of the chasm with Raven in her arm.
At the top of one wall, Chaos gave a final, great leap toward the nearest solid pathway. Despite her already superhuman effort, the jump did not bring them high enough. Chaos grabbed the pathway's ledge with her hand, letting out a hiss as she tightened her grasp. They hung there, Chaos panting for breath and Raven staring at the demon woman's hand.
The skin was gone, blood streaming down her arm from the exposed, blistering muscle and broken veins. White bone smoldered and smoked at the tips of her fingers. After a moment, Chaos pulled them up over the ledge, sitting heavily on the ground. She pulled her hand from the stone and looked at it. After a moment, she leaned over slightly, lifting her dangling legs to look at her feet.
"They're worse," she murmured blearily. She chuckled suddenly, letting her legs hang limp and holding her hand away from the ground and from Raven. "Give me a few minutes, little blackbird. It'll heal."
"Why did you do that?" Chaos did not hear the horror and hurt in Raven's voice, and thusly gave the girl an answer that was only half serious.
"Couldn't use my wings," she said with a faint laugh. Pain overriding rationality, she continued to laugh.
"Stop it! Stop it, stop it!" Raven's small fists began to pound at her chest. Chaos's laughter subsided as the pain did, and she looked at Raven in surprise. The little girl was sobbing, tears glistening in the light of the magma far below. "Stop it! You promised!"
"Raven?"
"You promised everything would be fine! You promised!" She looked into Chaos's eyes, anger and fear and hurt in her tears.
"I did."
"You promised that you would come and help me! Now you're hurt too—just like everyone else that tried to help!" She pressed her face against Chaos's chest, whimpering and sobbing. "Why? Why do all of you try to help me?"
"Hope, little blackbird."
"There is no hope! I can't help anyone! I can't!" She let out a cry, unable to stop the sound. Chaos began to rub her back, letting her shed her tears.
"I know that I hurt my daughter when I left," Chaos murmured after a time. "And I want to tell her that I'm sorry." She lifted Raven's chin with her fingers, smiling gently at the girl. "I'm sorry I left you, Raven." She wiped the tears away from Raven's cheeks, kissing the girl on the forehead. "I'm sorry that you hurt so much right now. But I'll tell you those special words again: wait and hope. I made a promise to you, and I will never ever break a promise that I make to my daughter."
Chaos stood up, her hand and feet healed. She held Raven in her arms, smiling at her. Raven looked at her with wide eyes, once more stunned at the strength of Chaos's words. She wanted to say something, but could not find the words she wanted.
"Nothing's over yet, little blackbird," Chaos said. "Come on."
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The Titans were trapped. The legions of fire demons surrounded them, standing as if to taunt them. The heroes were unable to stand, covered in sweat and bruises and streaks of blood. No longer could they hold off the attacks of their adversaries. Whenever the next strike came, it would be the last.
A lupine howl made the heroes and demons turn. Standing atop a pile of rubble was the great black hound, its fangs bared and its red eyes roaming over the fire demons. The hound leapt from its place, falling upon the demons. It rushed through the ranks, every demon it touched vanishing in bursts of sparks. Within a minute, only the hound remained. It turned to look into the shadows behind itself, and the Titans followed the hound's gaze.
Chaos strode into the light, and the heroes stared at the girl in her arms. Starfire felt her heart beat faster and struggled to her feet. She stumbled to meet Chaos halfway, a smile finding its way onto her face. She looked at the girl—looked into her dark eyes—and held out her shaking hands.
"Dearest Raven," she whispered. Tears came to Raven's eyes when she saw Starfire so battered and beaten, and she reached out to her. Starfire fell back to her knees the moment Chaos put Raven into her arms, joy overpowering her. She murmured Raven's name over and over, combing her fingers through her soft hair. In that moment, almost nothing mattered. Her weariness did not matter. Her pain was trivial. The only thing Starfire cared for was in her arms once again, and she knew joy because of it.
"Pitiful fools." Those that were slumped on the ground looked up. Trigon stood before them, arms crossed over his chest. He sneered at them, eyes narrow. He saw Chaos and his sneer turned to a grin. "Hell's Heir. I have waited a long time to slaughter you and take my rightful place as Lucifer's second."
"OK, what in the hell makes you think that you'll do better than any other demon?" Chaos demanded.
"My power has increased here on Earth," Trigon replied. "You will die at my hand, here and now. Once you are dead, I will kill these mortals—and I will save my daughter for last." Starfire held Raven tighter and made to stand up. Chaos put a hand on her shoulder and stepped forward, advancing on Trigon slowly.
"I'm sick of you," she snarled. "I'm sick of everything that spews out of that hole you call a mouth." She drew her sword, but held it in her right hand instead of her left. "You've done so many things to piss me off—like turning my lover into stone, for example. It's such a pain in the ass to fix." She stopped walking, her grip tightening on the sword. "But even though I love Kali, it's nothing compared to what you've done to Raven." She lifted her arm up, holding her right hand and her sword high.
Over the years, Chaos had gathered innumerable scars. The scars would come and go as time passed, following a cycle of creation, healing, and fading. All but two of her scars did this. The first scar was a self-inflicted one that she would not allow to fade: a perfectly formed cross on her right cheek she carved upon herself nearly two thousand years earlier. The other was one she had been born with: a line wrapped around her right wrist. This scar existed and would not fade because it showed what she was born from.
She had been born from Lucifer's right hand, which he sacrificed to create her. He not only gave up his blood, flesh, and bone, but a part of his soul, and this was where all her power came from. From the scar on her wrist flowed black flames, covering her hand and her sword completely. She let the concealing magic fade away with the release of the flames, looking at Trigon with her six glowing red eyes so filled with hate and anger that he could not repress a shudder.
Before he had stilled, a flash of pain washed over his senses. He roared, clapping a hand over the stump of his right horn. The horn fell to the ground with a resounding crash, and Trigon stared at it.
"You've tried to frighten her into believing that she was destined only to bring you and the end of the world! I will not allow that!" Another flash of pain overwhelmed him as Chaos cut off his other horn.
"There is only one destiny, and she has fulfilled it!" he snarled. "Not even you can alter fate!" He howled as the fiery sword stabbed into one of his eyes and Chaos laughed.
"You have no idea what her destiny really is!" His hand rose up to swat her from his face, but a single swing took the fingers from it.
"She has brought me here! That is her fate!" He roared when Chaos pulled the sword from his face, pressing his ruined hand over his equally destroyed eye. As he stood wounded, Chaos turned to look at Raven.
"Listen to me!" she called to the girl on the ground. "You were meant to bring Trigon here! If it were the only thing, I would have stopped it from happening! But you have a greater purpose—it's the reason I was destined to teach you and unlock all the power inside you!"
"SILENCE!" Trigon bellowed. He swiped at Chaos with his uninjured hand, only to have it severed from his arm. He grinned, however, opening his mouth and letting loose a blast of fire before Chaos could raise a guard. She was struck down from the sky, hitting the ground hard. When she rose from the crater she had created, fire was rushing at her again. She lifted her sword, the fireball hitting the blade. The fire pushed her back slightly, but she held the guard while turning to look at Raven again.
"You're not here to destroy the world!" she said. "You're here to be a hero—to kill Trigon!" His foot smashed down on her, grinding until he heard the satisfying sound of the bones in more than half of her body snap. Blood gushed from her mouth. Trigon sneered at her, keeping the pressure on her high enough to prevent her bones from healing. He looked up at Raven, and his sneer only increased.
"Do not delude yourself," he snarled. "You are nothing compared to me. You will always be my puppet—no more and no less than that, my daughter!" Still barely able to move, Starfire had no chance of stopping Raven from escaping her arms. The little girl started to walk toward the demon, and her eyes were glowing white.
"I'm not your puppet," she said as light enveloped her. When the light receded, Raven stood as a young woman once more. Her hair was long, her eyes narrow, and she held light in her hands. "And I am not your daughter." She lifted her hands, and the light rushed from them. Trigon screamed as the light burned a hole in his side. He stumbled backwards, his eyes widening in horror as Raven strode toward him.
"Only one person can call me their daughter," Raven said. The light rushed out again, piercing another of his eyes. "They protected me." A hole was punched through one of his shoulders. "They raised me and loved me." The arm that no longer had a hand was obliterated. "Only one person can call me their daughter—and Chaos is the only person I'll call my mother." She crouched down and touched Chaos's chest. The light healed every wound, and Raven smiled at the demon woman. She stood straight and went back to her friends. They reached for the hands she extended to them, returning the shadows she had given to them.
"You've attacked my friends—my family!" she shouted. "You've attacked the ones I love!" She turned to face him, rising into the air. "I won't let you ruin anything else!" Her eyes began to glow and the gem on her forehead danced with light. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Outlined in shadows, the light spread from her in the form of a raven. It burned Trigon away into nothingness when it touched him. Light washed over the Earth.
—to be concluded—