The End
Part Two
ºFor Robin, being super was a matter of magnitude. He was the only one among them who was totally human: weak, flawed, insecure and always had something to prove… and he was better than all of them. And Raven knew it. She had known it all along.
Raven had always felt… something for Robin, from the very beginning. She mostly just passed it off as childish or dangerous and did her best not to think about him: or at the very least remind herself that she was no Starfire and Starfire was what he wanted. She had to believe that things would be better for him, better for her, if she simply kept her emotional distance from him.
That changed, in two distinct phases and both of them had begun with Slade.
Raven moved silently as she could, in the way she always did, as she returned her books to her shelves and troves. It was close to six in the morning, the day after her friends were exposed to her prophecy. She didn't know about the others, but after the revelations they were confronted with, Raven hadn't been able to sleep. Contrary to popular belief, Raven did sleep: she slept a lot and pretty heavily. She took naps in the day time, short naps or long ones, depending on the stress of her mind or how messy the day's game of Stankball had been. Raven stopped suddenly, gripping her book in one hand while rubbing her head in amusement. She didn't care what the score card said, whenever Beast Boy and Cyborg played Stankball everybody lost.
Her friends were valuable to her: Starfire's sweetness, Cyborg's compassion, Beast Boy's out-and-out ridiculousness and Robin's understanding. There was something about all of them that made her wish that she was a different person: that coming into their lives didn't come with such disastrous baggage.
But they were in, all of them, and she had to keep them safe.
Raven moved to her open trove, dropping to her knees as she laid the book to the bottom of the chest's keep. Her fingers fell over the worn, leather bound cover. It was the book of her prophecy and it laid in the space beside the Tale of Rorek, in the coffer of her most dangerous books.
If only I knew how to keep them safe…
She closed the coffer and rested her arms over the box, dropping her chin into the cradle it made. One week ago yesterday had been Raven's sixteenth birthday. Most people had single events that hammered through their lives as a day of infamy. Raven had three. Two were directly tied into the consequence of her life course; the other was tied into Robin's. All three moments made keeping her emotional distance from Robin a very difficult task.
I save him. He saves me. Slade hunts and we defend… the difference between us is that Robin can save himself.
On the anniversary of her birth, Robin had saved her life more ways than he would ever know. He had caught her, held her close to him as the world was released from its pause. She had awoken from the faint induced by her powers to see him smiling down on her, the way he always did when a great rescue had been preformed. Raven had had a fight; she had the marks to prove it. She had fought Slade and what he represented, just like Robin had, but Robin had won. It was the same fight, with the playing field tipped into Slade's favor: his mentality bested Robin, his powers worsted Raven, to make him a threat. Robin had answered Slade's superior fight against Raven without powers, but kept coming, kept fighting, saving her life. He had caught her, touched her face and made her believe that for the moment that she could believe what he said: that she was safe.
Raven would always remember how Robin took his cape off and wrapped it around her shoulders. She had felt his finger tips gently and blushed and became angry in a rapid succession. She had wanted to collapse in on herself and pretend like nothing had happened. When she snapped at him quickly that she could teleport them to the tower and no one would see her, he didn't take offense. He let her hold onto the cape and warp them into the tower and let her disappear into her room. He didn't tell the others, she didn't have to make him swear to it.
Just like he didn't have to make her swear to never tell about what she had seen in his mind.
Raven's life had consisted of routine and more routine until the day she met Robin and brought him into her life. Since then, things stopped being the way she remembered them. She still hid sometimes, but less and less was she afraid.
They were the only people she knew who could talk to each other about the most private of things and still know so little about the potential the other person possessed. The moon pale mystic stood up and continued her task. She had more books than some libraries. Some surprised her to recall that she had them. A lot of them weren't even hers; they were the 'gifts' of Malchior. She would return them, if she knew where they had come from. But she couldn't think about her part in something she'd have to call thievery, she had other things to consider.
Before she understood how she knew, when the knock resounded from her door, she knew it was Robin. She also knew, as she moved to open the door, that he was standing just outside the threshold with his hands loose by his side. He was also standing unreasonably close to her door, she figured. That had nothing to do with it being her door; that was just simply the way Robin stood when he was waiting to be let into anywhere.
Raven understood why Robin's title was Boy Wonder… at least as far as the Wonder part was concerned: except for his age and that little bit of baby fat that no amount of training will take away from his cheeks, there was nothing boyish about him.
Except, if Raven were willing to admit it to herself, that cute grin he had when he managed to best her in chess or any other game of mental strategy.
Raven opened the door for Robin and let him stand there for a few seconds before she moved to the side and let him come in. He was always awake this early in the morning and since that day, that fated day, when she had seen those deep things he kept locked up in his mind, he had been coming to her room early, hoping that she was awake enough to provide some sort of intelligent conversation. More than once she hadn't been and he contented himself to look at her bookshelf or sit on her floor and wait for another fifteen minutes for her to possess the will power to get out of bed and talk and talk and talk.
Since the day, that first milestone in their relationship, Robin and Raven had been talking more and more. The day after he had recovered from his Slade-induced, self-inflicted wounds, he had sat on her floor with her and talked for six and a half hours. Even as that time wound down, she knew that there was still much more left for the Boy Wonder to say and for her to hear.
Robin stood in front of the pretty Titan and noticed her hands were fighting to keep a grip. He took the text gently and, realizing he couldn't read the script, moved to place the book in one of her coffers. He picked the wrong one.
"Not that one." Raven said when she caught her voice. "Only the bad stories go in there."
It didn't take more than those words for Robin to understand what she meant and what was in the trove. He choose another one, lied the book down, and turned to face her. He had come into her room with a list of things he needed to say, but when he looked into her face, he saw something that he couldn't put words to. Robin rubbed the back of his head shortly and thought of something unimportant to say.
"Your books are important to you." His tone was uneven. Raven had to think whether or not his words were a question, he could tell by the look on her face. He watched her use her powers to lift a stack from the floor and push them into the empty sleeves in her book shelves.
"Something like that." Raven replied. Robin bent down and picked the last book from her floor before looking around and finding the place for it. Raven moved forward silently, in that haunting way that she could, and took the book from his hand. It was leather bound and looked ready to fall apart in her hands. She gripped it firmly in both hands and didn't move to put it away. "They're a part of me. My spells, my stories, my gifts…"
There was something in her tone that told Robin that what he had stumbled upon wasn't unimportant. He had done that before: felt that something was unimportant and pressed it, to find out that there was a gem beneath it. But it only happened with Raven and it had only begun happening recently.
Raven saw Robin see her and inhaled slowly, blinked slowly, to let him see that she was fully aware of him being near her. Raven didn't have to search his face to know that something was running through his mind, he always had a look of concentration on his face, unless it he had a look of disgust, but seeing as Beast Boy's dirty laundry or Starfire questionable culinary 'treats' weren't around, there was no reason for his features to hold anything other than concentration. She felt a flash of his thoughts and pushed it away quickly, preferring to hear what he had to say rather than invade his mind to find out what he was piecing together.
Those sparks of his mindset had been the consequence of going into his mind. If Raven were to be honest with herself, their 'bond' meant more to Robin than it did to her. It gave her mostly unwanted glimpses into his thoughts and sometimes it allowed him to steal fragments of the tragedies she was trying to keep locked away. Except now there was no more mystery, all her friends new about the terrible thing she was born to do.
But Robin was still trying to piece her together, to get under her skin, to find her heart, to make her feel still strong.
"Now that you know the truth about me…" Raven began slowly, outside the sun finished its painting of the water in that fantastic gold color that Raven loved so much. The clouds were beginning to come, there was a good chance today would be a rainy day.
"You're a great girl." He said simply.
"What?"
"You're a great girl, Raven. That's the truth. Who you are is who you've always been: a person we trust, a person we admire, a part of our team."
"That's so easy to say, because you still don't understand."
"Maybe not, but I know enough. I'm here for you Raven. I've always been here for you. I'm sorry that you haven't always realized that. You've always been there for me, willing to step up to protect me from myself."
Raven looked at Robin and saw his features sag just a little when she turned her back to him as she went to place the book in her hands on her bed. When she set it down, she made the decision to sit down as well. So she sat on her mattress with the book at her hip and stared at it as she spoke. "None of us wanted to see you hurt."
"And none of us want to see you afraid… but we want to see you Raven." Robin moved comfortably close, he always did know the right way to touch and stand and speak, for the most part, when it came to Raven and that had been true long before either of them knew who Slade was. That had been true the moment he volunteered himself to help her. He knew where he stood with her, even when he knew nothing about her. "Could you trust me to let me see?"
"You have my trust and that is something very sacred to me."
Robin thought carefully and a flash of an image of Beast Boy and Cyborg hit Raven's eyes. His voice came quickly to put words to the image as if he knew that his mind had sent her a message. "I want to go where they went."
"They intruded." Raven replied definitively.
Robin never slouched, so when he moved his shoulders backwards, it was more of a declaration than a correction. There was something that needed to be said, he needed to find a way to say it. "When will you let me see? This bond… can go both ways if you let it."
"I… I'm not sure I'm ready for you to see. There are still a lot of things I'm not ready for you to know."
Robin did something he never did before. He sat on her bed beside her. He usually sat on her floor or stood up to comfortably kept his distance. But this was different. Everything was different. "How long have you been afraid?"
"Always."
For a few seconds they had nothing to say.
"I made contact with Aqualad and Bumble Bee. They started forming a team; it's the two of them and Speedy. But, all their leads about Brother Blood have gone completely cold. Since things around here have been… intense, I asked them if they would be willing to become official members of this team."
"Robin, I don't want to involve anymore people in this."
"Raven, they're our friends and we're all in this. You know as well as I do that we're all stronger when we all stand together."
She knew he was right and sometimes she hated when he was right, because it scared her that he could see possibility where she couldn't. She had built walls, years and years worth of walls, but there was something in Robin that could tear them down and because it was Robin, she didn't want to put them back up.
"Can I tell you a story?" Raven asked.
"From your books?"
"From my heart… and my head."
Robin waited and listened.
"I never appreciated the color gold, not until… recently."
"Why not?" He asked.
"Until you saved me… I had never experienced it."º
…
It had burned.
Barely out of the grip of her fingers and it had burned away.
Jinx's cat eyes were narrowed in a combination of fury and terror: one of her most powerful hexes had been incinerated by Washu's careful cruelty.
Nightwing was lucky that Starfire had reacted fast enough to pull him from danger. The diversion attack was still an attack. A massive tremor marked the trail of the energy blast that was aimed to take his soul. Jinx had tried to stop it by stopping Washu, but that had come to magnificent failure. Washu had waited and when the outlay of Jinx's curse was strongest, he flexed his magic it and returned the paper hex to the earth.
Starfire gripped Nightwing's wrist securely, holding them both several stories above the ground. Her left shoulder burned, from the first attack of the fight where Washu had tried to take down all those with flight, something he himself had yet to demonstrate his capacity for. D'ucel and Blackfire were on their backs on the ground because of it, Starfire had been knocked to the cave wall, but when she saw the dark weave, the same one she had seen six years ago, her body moved to protect Nightwing.
Minutes in, few blows attempted, and already they were losing. Without Raven's superior powers, without Sakura's guard, they had to rely on their abilities to hold on and defend. Starfire let go of Nightwing's wrist and the Titans' leader tucked and rolled to land safely. He extended his bo-staff, gaze shifting between the demon after his life energy and the demon in his life.
Washu waved his hand casually, sending a tremor of energy through the air. Jinx and Nightwing braced their feet as Tempest and Cyborg slammed into cave walls and Starfire was disoriented in the air. Jinx stood close to Nightwing, her fingers locked in a prayer state, her cat eyes switching between targets faster than Nightwing's own. Together their eyes locked on Washu.
"Astarte," His throat was thick with his Azarathian tongue. "Totashi Boyoku Nisa Verna Ror?" (Do you actually believe you pose a threat?)
"Visus Berka Tein Siyaku!"
"No, foolish, insignificant whelp; it is you who will die here!"
…
"Do you want any special rules, too?"
Her purple eyes narrowed, keeping the wicked geomancer in her sights constantly as she shook her head in the negative. "I'm the one who threw a bus at you, remember?"
Terra matched Raven glare for glare, both of their eyes beginning to become laced with their respective abilities. Around the corners of blue irises, laced a yellow band; purple eyes were being haunted with the sheerest of white might. Terra's face tightened and a sneer ran from her lower lip to her brow. "Last time you and I fought… I crushed you."
"Last time you had Slade behind you, giving you power you didn't have. Last time I wanted to save you---"
"No, you didn't!" Terra screamed.
"But this time, I'm going to use everything I've got. There's no more compassion, no more mercy."
"And no doubt. You're going to pay for everything you've done to me."
"You? This isn't about you! It's about what you've done! You could have eased the burdens of thousands of lives, but instead you choose a path of selfishness and betrayal."
"Why should I care about anyone else, when no one ever cared about me?"
The blow, the first blow struck, would have killed any other human being. The sharp punch connected brutally at the junction of Terra's chin and neck. She almost expected it to snap. Instead Terra Nostra crashed to the ground, her jaw miraculously unsevered. Above her Raven's eyes were black and furious.
"You stupid child, we did our best to welcome you!"
"Still looks like your best isn't good enough!"
Before Raven could move to strike again, the anger of the land began to crash and peel away at her footing, shaking her off balance as Terra rose to her feet. Terra's eyes became wrapped in yellow fury and the anger of the land matched her vengeance song. Raven took flight as the stone beneath her feet became jagged shards at the geomancer's will.
"LAAA!"
Raven's eyes widened as the ground beneath her began shooting diamond shaped shards at her person. She wrapped a barrier around herself. Terra's hands waved menacingly to run the land like a wave to wash over Raven and her guard. It fell like heavy water, to crush the moon pale mystic. Raven sneer before turning her body, her energy flashing out from finger tips in a splintering tornado that shattered the collective mass of land. Through the fragments of shed earth, Raven dove forward and caught Terra from behind, catching the wicked geomorph in a headlock. Terra grunted and struggled before landing a brutal elbow in Raven's side. Raven gasped in pain but didn't let go. Terra hammered the blow again, but Raven wouldn't quit.
The earth quaked under them. With one eye closed, as evidence of pain, Raven could see that slab of earth Terra was rising beneath her feet. When the wall shoot up, Raven leapt back, her purple eyes following the barrier's path until it struck the ceiling. Terra dropped to her knees on her side of the wall, catching her breath.
Raven shortened her recovery period, sending an energy claw that brought down the wall. Raven's energy crushed the soil, but the earth was infinite to Terra's will. As Raven waited for the rain of earth to end, a hand from the earth grabbed her ankle. The surprise left her open, Terra tackled the sorceress, knocking them both to the ground. Raven slammed back first, taking all the force of the blow as Terra landed on top of her. The blond fighter sat up, pinning Raven's waist with her weight. She cocked back her right hand to strike a blow. Raven's eyes flashed white before her body became her energy and she sunk into the earth outside of Terra's gasp.
The geomancer gritted her teeth in frustration, opening a chasm of the earth to reveal nothing. A fissure shot stinging hot wind from the fault she created. Terra got to her feet, her blue eyes dashing back and forth to catch a telling glimpse of where Raven's next strike would come from.
…
The scream of Jinx echoed through the pedestal keep. The constricting energy had caught her, despite all her nimble evades: just like it had caught Nightwing and Cyborg and the others. She was being held off the ground and away from the others. Her knees were locked tight together; her right hand was pinned by her face, her left trapped at her side. Beneath the struggling and kicking feet of Foxfire, Slade stood looking amused. Washu held his gaze on the pain twisted features of Astarte tu Jinx.
A bolt cut through the air, charging with a mastered aim. It cut past the narrow divide of the energy holding Tempest and Starfire, aimed for the eye of Washu. Slade's hand shot out and cut the path of the dashing arrow, but his eye and Washu's both turned to the source of the shot. Slade was foolish enough to unleash a sinister smile. Washu was not.
One sharp flick of her wrist and an expert throw hurled her boomerang through the air at lightning fast speed. It turned and pivoted, flying in an arching circle path with trained accuracy. It cut through every tendril of energy, freeing Jinx to drop to the floor in a guarded crouch. Blackfire caught Nightwing and set him down, both of them turning their eyes to the doorway, where the huge weapon returned to that expert hand. The energy twisted her strong wrist, rotating the joint in a motion the muscles were trained to accept.
When Jinx moved, Sakura moved: same general direction, different targets. Their paths crossed in a straight X, the ward in Jinx's right hand wrapped around Sakura's wrist with a single clash of their hands. They kept moving, Jinx dashing to Washu, Sakura aimed to fight Slade. Slade moved his body into the beginning of an offensive stance. He ducked under her spin kick as Washu raised his arm to smash his forearm against Jinx's attacking side arm. Washu leered as the friction in their fight pushed their weight towards the slimmer Jinx. Jinx smiled wickedly before tumbling backwards smoothly as a sonic blast and a rain of Starbolts dashed in at Washu. As Washu raised his arm to block his face, Slade dropped his shoulder to ram into Sakura. The Xing Yi fighter dropped into a split, giving Slade a clear view of what was behind her: a dark bird-a-rang blade wielding Nightwing. Slade jumped backwards as Nightwing jumped over his sister and made to cut him in two.
Slade moved and evaded, sliding to the side of a perfect perpendicular cut. Before he could step in to counter attack, Tempest's boot connected with his chest. As the aquamorph somersaulted backwards, Slade lost control of his body to the momentum of the blow. His body dragged against the ground for a few seconds before all his momentum stopped with Blackfire driving her feet into his breadbasket. The ground cracked beneath his body from the strength of the Tameranian powerhouse. She took into the air where she hammered down Blackbolts while blue Fox shots were rained down courtesy of Tameran's Foxfire.
Washu's energy waved through the cave throwing all the Titans off balanced. Arsenal's heat seekers were incinerated under Washu's fury. The dark magic waved through the air, spiraling out with every Titan as a target. Foxfire dove and grabbed Arsenal, keeping an energy beam from taking down the agile archer. The blow meant for the red head struck D'ucel in the center of his back, sparking and burning away the ward there, before pulling back and returning to the dark mage that controlled it. D'ucel staggered when he placed Arsenal to safety. His worried companion looked at the damage and winced at the wounded paper glued to his uniform.
"Are you alright?"
"For the most part, I am undamaged."
The eagle eyed archer looked forward with his blue eyed teammate, seeing the waves of Washu's power lashing out and striking at the hexes of each of the Titans. Tempest's hand stung with the blow and Blackfire could not dodge fast enough to avoid the burn. Nightwing's swinging dark bird-a-rang blade lacerating the blow meant for him. When the energy retreated, he gripped his weapon in both hands, turning his wrists to the left, his right elbow out, the left down, ready to strike immediately for another attack. Sakura raised her arms to shield her face, feeling the blow struck at her exposed wrist before dispersing. She opened her eyes and looked over her guard to see, just faintly, a wave of her remnant Holy energy dissipating Washu's power, protecting her body. Washu saw it as well.
…
Terra gasped as Raven ascended and caught her midturn. The moon pale fighter secured her grip around Terra, using her forward momentum to bulldog her opponent. Terra's body crashed into the ground and Raven's rode the sharp friction of her own body striking the earth. The magic wielder twisted her hips to be face to face with Terra, who got to her hands and knees fast enough to tackle Raven and knock them to the ground. Terra pinned Raven's right hand with her left and smashed her fist into Raven's face twice before Raven raised her left hand and jabbed Terra in the jaw. With her hand still by her face, Raven pulled a handful of Terra's hair. The geomancer gritted in pain as the pull tipped their weight. Raven rolled on top of Terra, pinning her with her thighs.
Terra's eyes flashed yellow as Raven drew her fist back to strike a punch. The earth on either side of them erupted and took form; two golem hands arched out and grabbed Raven by the shoulders. Raven twisted her body and Terra twisted free from Raven's pin. Raven's sneer took over her features, her eyes lit up a furious white. Her shoulders flexed powerfully, her fists balled angrily as her muscles tensed. Her energy burst from behind her back, uncoiling in black wings that shred the stone hands into a million tiny fragments.
Raven started to get to her feet, but a sharp spin kick from Terra knocked her back to the floor. Raven upkicked in time to avoid Terra's heel. She leapt back a few feet before thrusting her hands forward, her finger tips aimed at the cobblestones between their feet.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
The black power captured a load of stones, throwing them forward at the wicked geomancer. Terra smirked before waving her hands back, taking control of every single stone. Her eyes widened as she looked past the defeated dark energy, exploding into the air to see Raven. She realized she'd fallen for a decoy as Raven floated above the ground and a soul body, a perfect mimic of her form, escaped Raven and dove at her with alarming speed. Terra thought quickly and pulled the cobblestones in her grasp together and formed a club. The earthen weapon swung at the charging energy. Raven's soul body charged it, exploding the weapon into a thousand points of the earth. The scattered element showered through the air around the dark soul solider. When the rain indeed, it looked forward but did not find Terra Nostra.
Terra immerged from her sink into the ground behind Raven, the real Raven and grabbed her hair. The pull disoriented the soul solider. The kick that followed scrambled the energy. Her soul returned to her body spinning the off balanced Raven just in time to see the huge boulder crash into her. Raven's yell followed her body as she was thrown ten feet away. She landed on her side, her right arm wrapped around her wounded middle. She could do nothing to trap the moan of pain from pouring from her throat. Her breathing was hard, her bare legs felt bruised and it hurt her heart to control the fury in her mind.
Terra stared down at her from only a few feet away. Her look showed her disgust at the weakness in the woman who was her greatest rival. She squatted down to make her face only a short, angry gaze upwards for the wounded magician.
"What gives you hope now Raven? Will you give me the satisfaction of stealing it from you?"
…
"It is time, Mesa." She whispered.
"It has always been time… time exists to give meaning to our lives. If there wasn't time, nothing in life would be precious."
"We must be her sword and guard."
"No, we are only her sword… HOPE must be her guard."
"Yes. Are you ready Mesa?"
"I am ready, Mune." Her long purple hair flickered behind her in the same direction of her white robes. The shimmering green dress pressed against her legs and whipped about as well.
Behind the two, the Mesa and the Mune, the other echoes of identity stood and waited in anticipation. For years, for as long as any of them had been in creation, the one who was bravery and the one who was knowledge were always the strongest. They were of the first there, they were the great fighters, they were the resilience that their Lethe needed to avoid the fall.
"And Lethe will be stronger?" JoY asked quickly, looking between the stern faces of their strongest counterparts.
"One day," The Mesa stated, "We will all be a part of Lethe, tied to her in the way that will make her stronger. For now, it is our time to stand with our Lethe: to give her strength, to give her hope."
JoY's doe eyes blinked once sadly. TimiD placed slender fingers on the light blue cloaked shoulder of JoY. JoY looked up and forward, into the matching eyes of the Mesa and the Mune. For a moment all those purple eyes flickered to the side to the energy pools and hammering power beyond the shredding lightning: the turmoil of Lethe's mind.
"If she escapes?" TimiD asked quietly.
"We will act." The Mune said simply.
"And of her?" JoY asked.
"When the time is right, she will become the shield she was always meant to be."
The Mesa's mouth closed firmly, her face matching that of the Mune. The two turned, turning their backs to all the others that were just like they were. They all had to be strong for the future: no matter the power, no matter the identity. Clad in a green dress, The Mesa extended her hand to her yellow clad counter part, the Mune. She took it and the two walked up two steps to a floating pedestal on the island beneath the energy of gold. The Mune stood on the left, the Mesa on the right, their heads bowed down, their hands tightly wound together.
HappinesS, TimiD, JoY and DespaiR watched as the bravery and the knowledge lit their eyes in an awesome white energy. All their power, all their strength, all their character focused in that place beneath the energy of gold.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
They chanted their mantra together: the Mesa, the Mune, the one who was JoY, she who was TimiD, the one called DespaiR and she who was HappinesS. All of the fractions of Lethe put for their words and put forth their energy: shining out a rainbow that blinded them all. JoY opened her eyes and HappinesS as well, moving forward as Timid and DespaiR stood still.
In the floating island, beneath the energy of gold, stood a black sword, its handle carved in energy darker than any of them knew to be Lethe's. They, HappinesS and JoY, did not move any closer than close enough to see the way the dark energy seemed to shine beneath that energy of gold that shimmered above them all.
"Their fate to become a weapon is what bonded them so deeply to Lethe." HappinesS said simply, as if, looking at the Mesamune gave her both the knowledge and bravery it was composed of.
"We are not weapons. What will bond us to her?" TimiD asked.
"I don't know." JoY stated with a bit of whimsy in her voice, being so close to something as beautiful as the Mesamune. "Maybe time. Maybe love."
"We have love. We've always had love." HappinesS responded.
"Then time." JoY replied. The four aspirations turned and looked back deeply to the half buried Mesamune. "Their actions have given us opportunity for time."
…
The wards on Nightwing's arms would not burn. Nor would that one wound tightly around his sister's wrist.
Their wards had held, but they were wounded none the less.
Jinx's eye was pinched tight. She held her middle with a slender hand. Her open eye could see one thing; the proud menace in the eyes of Washu. If looks could kill, Washu would have suffered a thousand of the world's worst ways to die. Sakura pitched forward from her exhaustion, leaving Nightwing and Jinx to stand. Jinx grimaced, there was no Holy guard and there was no powerful dark magic for them to rely on. She had made a mistake to challenge Washu without Raven and if she did not receive the unlikely good luck for her aid, she would die at Washu's hands: just like her mother, just like her brother.
Mother… Laseri… Voya Buon Corsacorsa Mor. (I can not see you in death, not yet.)
…
Raven hurled her might. Terra threw the land. The clashes of their powers weakened the sun. Raven pushed and Terra punched. Terra's lip stung with the pain of blood and Raven's cheek was stained an angry blue color under the fall of her long purple hair.
They stood thirty feet apart on the traumatized land of the highest order in the temples of Scath. They were breathing hard. Raven's throat was dry, the sweat on Terra's brow clung her bangs to her face. No matter the fatigue of their bodies, no matter how many screams of pain, neither of them could calm the hatred in their eyes. Terra could see Raven's matching hate in her demon tinted irises.
Terra was going to let her rage free.
The single stone wasn't large, but large enough to do the damage. From over her shoulder, Terra darted a single rock hurled with dead accuracy for Raven's eye. Raven didn't blink. Her hand reached in front of her and with bare fingers she caught the stone.
"I don't think so." She said simply and tightened her grip until the stone exploded to nothingness in her hand. Terra's eyes widened as Raven dashed forward, until she was just five feet away and her cerulean eyes narrowed wickedly.
"LAAA!"
The surge of power rocketed from the earth in a band of mental might that knocked Raven backwards. The mystic fighter landed solidly on her back, grunting when her body collided with the jagged earth. Her amethyst irises opened wide as she watched what was happening. The earth was moving like a snake against Terra's body. It wrapped around her forearms and became gauntlets made of stone. It wrapped around her forehead to make a ring of rock. The earth pooled thickly against her chest forming an armor that appeared difficult to penetrate. But above all that, Raven watched the way the earth in Terra's control formed a weapon in the air. It was a double edged lode ax: huge, heavy and sharp, but with a single grasp of her hand, Raven could tell that Terra could wield it and with no difficultly.
Terra spun her weapon, the sound of the stone blade cut through the air thickly, pushing wind that kicked dirt into Raven's face.
"Scared?" Terra asked. "You should be. I've been waiting for this… Do you think I sat around and did nothing? I've gained power too."
"Gaining power doesn't mean you're stronger. Your arrogance will be your down fall." Raven said as she stood up.
Terra regarded Raven and dropped the weight of the six foot long stone ax to her shoulder. Her irises wavered rapidly, she swore she saw something, saw something change in Raven.
The mystic tilted her head before letting out a battle cry that made Terra's blood run cold. The great bird of Raven's soul self emerged from Raven's body. Its huge wings enveloped Raven and blocked her from Terra's sight. The geomancer took a single step back before the wings of Raven's energy dispersed, the fractions of power spinning outward from Raven's body to dissipate in the air between Terra and herself.
Terra looked past the shield of her arm to see Raven standing ready. She was bathed in her black energy: a circlet looking like heavy Damascus adorned her forehead like a crown, jagged and foreboding. Against her chest in an arching shape that curved with the swell of her breast was a breastplate, the film of energy caught the light, making the armor fragment shine.
But more eye catching than her armor was her weapon. The black blade was made of her energy, channeled into a sharp edge weapon, in the cut of a saber. The length of the weapon from the tip of the blade to the hand-stop was nearly Raven's height. The hand guard's were shaped like the jagged talons of the bird with which she shared a name. Terra leered as Raven swung her blade over head in two full rotations, each turn spinning out fearsome power without taking any energy from the sword.
Terra rotated her weapon into an offensive hold as Raven locked both hands on the grip of her weapon, lining the edge of her blade in the center of her gaze, cutting the image of Terra Nostra exactly in half.
…
ºStarfire laughed nervously as the timer lost two minutes from its countdown, leaving them with only a minute to deactivate the machine and/or evacuate the building before the device went off and exploded the building and all the reactive chemicals in it.
Speedy sweat dropped before turning his masked eyes to the other Titan redhead. "I feel as if you're constantly doing something dangerous."
Starfire laughed nervously again, rubbing the back of her head and blushing furiously. Her laughter was cut short when the timer dinged harshly, letting them know they only had thirty seconds. "We should make with the haste and escape."
Speedy seconded her sentiment and took off into a run until Starfire swooped in and grabbed his wrist, flying them out as quickly as possible. It wasn't fast enough. The building exploded around them, the wave of destruction flood from behind them until a random blast, ignited by the factory's dangerous wares, blocked their path. Starfire gasped and stopped in her forward progression, the change in acceleration jerked Speedy forward before pulling him back, just out of the way of a falling beam.
Starfire panicked as smoke clouded the air. She did not fear for herself, she was resilient, but she could hear Speedy coughing even as it became more difficult to see him. Her eyes blurred and over the ruckus of explosions, she could not be sure if she heard Speedy collapse to the floor of it were just her imagination. She began to cough as well, sinking to the ground, in a chemical induced haze, her eyes drooping shut before she keeled over.
Sequence Terminated
The red letters flashed against the visual monitor of the headset. A current of electricity ran through the letters, making them flash and disappear for a moment before flashing again. She pulled the helmet from her face as her partner did the same beside her. No longer was she in the burning wreckage of the factory, she was in the training room, with her friends and team members. She frowned, holding the AV helm in her lap.
"I am sorry. I was not successful in completing my assigned mission." Starfire said simply.
"It's alright, Starfire." Robin said. "You did your best."
"My best endangered the life of my companion. I was reckless in my… over confidence."
"Hey, Star, don't beat yourself up." Speedy said. "I didn't exactly get you out of harm's way either."
"That does not make my actions any less unforgivable. I offer the apology."
Starfire had taken to understanding the complexity of their futures more so with each passing day. Since the revelation of Raven's prophecy, she had been humbled in the magnitude of her abilities. Though she always cared for the safety of her friends, she was not always acting in their best interest. She could afford to make mistakes because the build of her body always made her get up. She knew that wasn't true for her friends, especially Robin. Every time he took an attack, she screamed his name in fear that he was broken. Starfire realized that worrying about them did not prevent their wounds… to do her part; Starfire understood she had the obligation, as the resilient warrior of their clan, to save every one of her strong, but fragile friends from anything she could defend them against.
Starfire put away her helm and walked with Speedy and Robin until the Titans' leader broke off to have a word with Cyborg. Speedy could tell that Starfire was upset with her performance still and disheartened was not a feeling Speedy felt that Starfire should be intimately familiar with.
"Hey, Star, don't let the vid-sim results get you down. We all make mistakes. I made them. Robin made them and so did everyone else. We all want to do our best, but we can't expect to be successful every time. If we were, we'd be machines: and not in the way Cyborg is."
"I understand the sentiment, but I feel no more at ease."
"Listen Red, take it from a guy who's had tons of self-doubt. We're kids. You're not even sixteen until tomorrow. There's no way we're going to get it right, but we all know that when it really matters, you're there for us. And that's all we can ask of you… asking anything else would be… well wrong of us. And if we make you feel like you're not strong for us, we're the ones who owe you the apology."
"You have nothing to apologize for." Starfire replied.
Speedy nodded. "Then we're even."º
Starfire didn't know why her memory supplied her with that image as her consciousness swept in and out of her control. She could vaguely make out the frame of D'ucel as he crouched in front of her defensively as the remnants of Slade's pyromancing crackled against the air.
The wounded bodies of the Titans were scattered about, thrown against walls and other bodies as Washu's power proved to be superior to everything they were fighting with. She could not see if Washu had pressed his advantage over Jinx and kept her locked in the toying tendrils of his powers. She could not see if Nightwing still held his blades for the offensive. She could not hear the roar of her sister's eyebeams or the cut in the air caused by the rapid fire of Arsenal's bow.
Her chest burned, and her body struggled over the pain of it.
Get up. Get. Up.
…
When their weapons clashed, the air changed directions, pushing their grunts back into their own mouths instead of into the faces of the enemy before them. Their weapons were deadlocked. They gritted their teeth as they both tried to push some weakness in the other, to tip the saber towards Terra or tip all the blades back to Raven. Their physical strength was nearly even, the friction under their feet and the twists of their hips made the weapons swing in their arms. Their bodies turned, their weapons pinned each other the ground. Their eyes darted from their locked weapons back into the face of their enemy. Raven moved suddenly, elbowing Terra in the chest. The geomorph stumbled back; the blade of her ax scrapped the ground, rubbing earth against earth.
Her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders as her head lifted up to see Raven running at her with her blade raised to swing. As Raven's saber struck down, a pillar of earth erupted under Terra's feet and catapulted her upwards. The energy blade scrapped against the rising column. Raven raised her purple eyes to follow Terra's escape. Raven took flight to chase: her weapon dangling in her right hand, her left balled up by her face as she flew, the wind of her motion made her hair wave down her back like a billowing cape. Terra's trap made her stop.
The cylinder jettisoned from the column side and her forward momentum gave Raven no choice but to half fly through it before it constricted around her body. The cylinder held her tightly, pinning the blade of her weapon to her side. She wormed her body, her left hand pounding on the vice. Above her head she could hear Terra laughing. She rose her purple eyes to stare into the face of Terra Nostra. She raised her left hand and with the might of her magic, pulled a giant boulder from the ceiling above Terra's head. Her black shrouded hand dropped and the boulder descended from overhead to drop on Terra. Terra shook her head; a look of amusement at Raven's audacity plastered her face in a clear incredulous 'yeah right' manner. Terra raised her hand and stopped the dropping stone. Raven smirked. Before Terra could react, another boulder careened in from the side and smashed into her body, knocking her from the pedestal. Raven's dark power spun out from her body and crushed the cylinder. A dark blast from the sword shattered the entire pillar allowing Raven to fly through the rain of rocks to chase Terra Nostra.
Terra turned and caught a stone beneath her. Pivoting her hips to keep her balance and keep her distance. Raven chased, her weapon drawn back behind her head to deliver an over head cut, her body twisting to give her strike momentum. Terra jumped backwards just in time to see Raven's strike cut the stone in half.
Terra watched before sending a command to the split halves to come back together, crashing into either side of Raven. The blow succeeded, knocking Raven from the air, dropping loudly to the made jagged earth. She winced to get up, but got up immediately when she saw Terra dropping down with her ax to cut her in two. Raven rolled to the side, hearing before seeing Terra's huge ax cutting through stone like butter. The moon pale mystic pulled her feet beneath her and stood up again. Terra turned quickly as she wrenched her weapon from the deep furrow wound it made in the ground.
Raven felt the earth tremor. Terra could still control every ounce of life blood in the earth, even as blood leaked from the deep wound in her arm. The soil pooled and wrapped up Raven's shins, locking her feet and ankles under her. Terra dropped in a quick motion and spun her leg out, crashing through the stone to take Raven's legs beneath her. Raven crashed to the floor and Terra rose to her feet. Raven held her weapon firmly in her hand as Terra turned her ax to end her life.
Cerulean eyes narrowed at the face of her next victim. "Take responsibility for all your sins."
Raven rose her weapon in a guard of her chest, blocking the decent of Terra's ax. Her right hand pushed at the grip, her left pushing and steadying the blade. She gritted her teeth and struggled until her eyes were washed over white and her demonic flare surged to give her the strength to push Terra's strike away. Raven up kicked and swung back at Terra Nostra, bringing their weapons again to a lock.
"My sins?" Raven screamed.
Their weapons clashed in a fury that weakened the sun. Their bodies moved like the vengeful warriors they were, the crash of the blades scurried energy into the air that would have choked the weak. But neither of them were weak and they kept fighting.
"All the hate you bred." Terra barked, her weapon clashing against Raven's. "All the hurt you dealt out to me! To the world! To everyone you ever knew!"
Terra's screams were punctuated with downward swings of her ax and the matching crash of exploding energy as Raven met her swing for swing.
"I hate Blackfire because of you, because you gave her your trust and you never even considered giving it to me!" Terra screamed.
Raven rolled her shoulder, evading Terra's vengeful strike and going on the offensive. "Just because you wanted it, doesn't mean you deserved it." Raven responding, their weapons locking again.
"You didn't even give me a chance. I watched Blackfire's tape… she didn't regret… she was selfish… but when I'm selfish you call me a child…"
Raven's weapon crashed down onto Terra's, forcing the geomorph's knees to bend. "You can stop right there. You can contrast and compare all you want but don't think your pity party will inspire sympathy."
Terra swung in a horizontal cut. Raven jumped backwards out of range, bringing her weapon's grip into both hands. Terra sneered, but her eyes were still an unpolluted blue. "You think I want sympathy because of your trust? Trust may have been my great motivator, but the sting in my heart is because of what happened to Choris."
"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you now? Do you expect mercy because your evil intentions destroyed a life you didn't mean to? Your actions brought the death of two little girls not even a full year old." Raven shot an energy blast with her sword. The blow struck Terra's chest guard and pushed her backwards. The geomorph dropped to her knees. "Are you happy?" Raven asked. "Are you proud that you were strong enough to use anything you could to get to me? How could you resign your daughter to such a fate?"
Terra sneered and got to her feet, her eyes alight with her anger of the land. "How could you?"
"How dare you? I tried to protect my child!" Raven screamed.
Terra hurled a stone. The rocked dropped under Raven's swing and crashed into Raven's knee. She staggered and Terra capitalized, sending a brutal front kick into Raven's nose. "She suffered to live! You knew all the awful things you would do and you still tried to pretend that you were strong enough to stop it all! And what did you prove?" Terra asked.
Raven shook her head furiously at Terra's audacity. "You created a child for evil intentions do not dare speak of righteousness!"
"And don't you speak of evil! You could have stopped all of this! If you were half as strong as you lead any of us to believe." Their weapons clashed again, their bodies trembling with the boil of their blood. The flow of battle with such intensity could not be survived by any one other than those two, those with wounds so wide that the only seal was the death of their enemy. Their power, unparalleled and unleashed; cut the air into molecules with their absolute destruction. "With your infinite strength? With your power to stop all the bad things you've done? All you've proven is that you let down everyone who needed you."
"And you've proven that you are incapable of regret… and I can no longer suffer you to live." Raven pushed their weapons back towards Terra, forcing the geomorph to leap backwards, putting ten feet between them. Raven turned her hands into her strongest offensive grip. Terra tightened her face and moved her weapon with a wave of her wrists.
"You could never beat me." Terra said definitely, readying her weapon.
"Come at me… with everything you've got."
Terra smiled wickedly. "You'll never live through this." She shifted her hips, raising her lode ax to strike. "Trust me."
Their battle cries crashed against each other as both girls ran forward. Their weapons locked. Raven turned her hips and kicked Terra. Terra's feet slid against the earth before she found friction and used all her upper body strength to push their weapons back to Raven. The moon pale mystic leapt backwards, taking flight just above the ground. She stared at Terra through the haze of her destructive white focus. Her body was shaking with her own power. Her eyes combed Terra's face before they lost their light. Raven's feet touched the ground, standing straight up, her weapon at her side. She took a deep breath and looked straight into Terra's eyes.
"For insulting the life of your daughter…" Raven said slowly, with the pace of her inhales. "I apologize."
Terra nodded. Her eyes losing their feral yellow glow for just long enough. "Accepted."
Raven returned to an offensive stand. So did Terra.
Their last battle cry would echo through the temple in infamy.
…
"Astarte tu Jinx, why do you bother to rise when the end is already here?" Washu asked.
Jinx's body was trembling, keeping a ward between her fingers. The ward erected a barrier that spanned across their half of the battle ground. The size of the shield was draining her energy: though her feelings of comradeship for most of them was minimal, she had to protect Nightwing for Raven; she'd never be able to fight if he was defeated; and for her own personal heart, she had to protect Cyborg: just as Arsenal had to protect his wounded Sakura, Tempest to his Blackfire, Foxfire to protect Star. Each life was fighting for someone, just as Jinx had been fighting all along.
"Gosa! Turva Yerma Nocta Nor!" Jinx responded, not moving from her knight's kneel, keeping the herald of her ward tight in her mind.
"I can wait to destroy you after I've gathered Lethe and the Titans' leader to make my next sire. Trigon will be reborn to this world, Astarte. Your vein and pathetic life hasn't the longevity to stop me."
Washu's energy crashed against the guard and between her fingers, Jinx could feel her ward burn away. Her cat eyes widened when the wave of Washu's power struck against her and hurled her body to the ground. The blow stunned her, stunned them all and left them all to the Slade Syndicate's will.
…
It was a gasp. Not a scream. But it echoed through the corridor of the battle, ricocheting off the walls, ricocheting off of echoes to continue the short, sharp sound for what seemed like eons, though it was really only seconds.
Her long hair fell over her shoulders as her body hunched over. Her slender fingers found her wound. The blade had cut deeply, but smoothly, just under the curve of her breast plate. Her blood fell from the wound, falling over her fingers and pooling drop-wise on the surface of the ground between her feet.
No… I can't die… not until I avenge… Akane…
Terra waved her ax, her vision split between the wounded Raven and the weapon that had done it. Terra observed the edge of her stone ax and saw Raven's blood there. It stained her weapon in a vicious black color.
"Black blood… I should have known." Terra muttered under her breath.
Raven could hear her heartbeat, drumming in her ears at a pace meant to steal away her life.
Beat, beat heartbeat.
Her head lurched forward and back; her eyes flickering open and closed: forward; closed, backwards; open.
Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…
She found it difficult to concentrate, to call her healing powers to save her life. Not only was her heart racing to end her life, but over the drumming beat, she could hear Terra Nostra coming forward.
"Oh Rae… why does it feel that every time you and I fight… I win? Oh that's right! Because every time we fight, I crush you… did you think a few years would change that?"
Raven's feet shuffled as she dared to move her body backwards, keeping distance between herself and Terra Nostra. The blade of her sword dragged against the earth in a jumping tempo, slow and fast and tiring. As her body slunk backwards, she could see.
She could see Akane smiling.
Terra stepped forward by one step.
The wound tightened just a little.
Raven could see Nightwing, his hands touching hers.
Raven took a step backwards.
Beat, beat heartbeat.
Terra's slander moved through the beat of her heart and was lost.
Raven stepped backwards again.
She could feel it pooling in her mind, trying to find the leverage to take over. She sucked in a breath and forced herself to concentrate.
Azarath Metrion Zinthos…
The wound tightened just a bit more.
Azarath Metrion Zinthos…
Raven could see the first moment where her daughter and the man who held her heart first met.
Don't lose control… concentrate…
The wound stopped bleeding.
Raven took a single step backwards.
It rattled in the confines of her mind. It shook at the balance, forcing its power to grow and become something dangerous. Something whole, something that could take over and fight… and never stop fighting until the world ended.
Terra Nostra took a step forward.
Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Do not let her out…
Raven could remember how beautiful Akane's first words were. How gentle the first touch of Nightwing as her lover had been.
Terra Nostra took a step forward.
The wound closed, the blood lose kept her dizzy.
Terra Nostra took a step forward. She saw the daze in Raven's features, the defeat that the first blow could guarantee. Her tight, blue eyes narrowed down, taking to memory every inch of her true enemy. Raven's head snapped upwards as Terra's words cut against the cadence of her heartbeat.
Beat, beat heartbeat.
"This is really going to be a shame, Raven. This is the last time I'm going to see you alive. And you're weak and you're bleeding and you're still not better than me. Still not stronger than me…"
Beat. Beat heartbeat.
Beat. Beat heartbeat.
Beat. Beat heartbeat.
Beat. Beat heartbeat.
Beat. Beat.
Beat. Beat.
Beat. Beat.
Beat. Beat.
The weight of Terra's shadow staggered Raven's shoulders, her head dropped to her chest. The struggle to keep it back was hard to beat. She breathed, she tried to chant, she tried to stay conscious.
"If you were strong you wouldn't have let Choris die. You wouldn't have ruined Akane's future." Terra sneered.
And RAGE escaped.
Beat. Beat heartbeat.
Beat. Beat heartbeat.
Beat. Beat heartbeat.
Beat. Beat heartbeat.
Beat. Beat.
Beat. Beat.
Beat. Beat.
Beat. Beat.
Raven's roar catapulted Terra backwards as the flare of awesome energy, locked behind Raven's vault erupted and tore into the world. Her cerulean eyes were stained with the image of her. Four eyes. She had seen that before, but before those four eyes were red… now they were black, but no less intense, no less dangerous.
Her features were twisted in a wicked sneer. Her purple hair fanned out in the destructive energy that flowed from her body. Terra got to her feet. The geomancer watched the way the energy ran around Raven's body like a horrible halo, feeding into the surrounding, but more importantly, feeding at the shape of her blade. Terra couldn't tell if the weapon was getting stronger or been torn away at. The air became thick, the black whips of Raven's power were whipping out sharply, lashing against the air and Terra swore she felt them weakly on her body.
Terra smirked and took her weapon into an offensive stand, holding her body as if she were holding a war club, body turned to deliver the last blow. "This doesn't change anything, Raven. You can unleash your devil within all you want. But you're still not better than me!"
RAGE rose her left hand, the right one dangled at her side gripping her created blade, loosely as if an afterthought. The fingers of that left hand extended to their full length, outwards at the steadying Terra Nostra. Those fingers, that arm, that body were being encircled with incomplete tornadoes, spiraling in syncopation.
"Gontasa Wudas Cortora Blasis Wish Hotda!" (You're going back to where you belong!) RAGE's body screamed.
Terra gasped when the torrent of energy knocked her weapon from her hand in a fierce shot. The double edge ax spun and crashed into the earth, breaking apart with impact. Terra sneered and turned back to Raven, seeing there was no change in her expression, but she was moving closer.
"Yord Maska! Biren Dorsa Win Lorta!"
Terra's stone gauntlets shattered under RAGE's magic, grinding the strong wrist bones enough to make them break. Terra screamed and RAGE continued to move forward. Terra staggered backwards as far as she could until the stone band crown around her head crumbled. Her vision became blurred as the wound in her forehead opened and sliver of blood mixed with sweat ran into her eye.
"Boma! Loksa Vissa Tintora Lotan Jhakam Rorba Niy!"
"LAAA!" Terra's eyes turned to yellow and the ground beside Raven pulled up and collapsed around her, to catch her in a shell of the earth. The earth rebounded off of her terrible energy, leaving a corridor for Raven to continue to stalk through. Her hand remained extended, her sword dragged along the ground, her four eyes bathed in total blackness. Terra screamed when her chest guard was encircled with black energy and crushed inward, smashing her ribs and collar bone.
"Imosa Brida. Imosa Brida. Yisten Metsa Conpa Gokta?" (Tell me. Tell me. Was it cold in the stone?)
Terra gasped in horror as her body was pulled against her will. Her legs spread to the width of her shoulders. Her hands were pulled down to the side, palms open flared beside her narrow hips. Her head was forced to look forward to see Raven come forward and stop with her extended fingers less than a foot from her face.
Terra's eyes opened wide in terror as she felt the ground beneath her begin to tremble in power that wasn't her own. She stared into Raven's eyes and saw it there: the power that was going to end her life.
"AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!"
She could feel it. Every inch of her body was being taken over. From the ground, from that hard space under her feet, the earth rumbled and cracked, splitting and smashing together like waves crashing against the beach. She tried to calm it, but her powers weren't strong enough. She couldn't fight the source of the tremors until the quaking finally stopped. The earth slid up, inch by inch, covering her boots, wrapping around her ankles. She tried to pull herself free, but couldn't. It wasn't the earth wrapping itself around her… it was her becoming the stone again. It was the petrifaction claiming her, the earth calling her back to what she was.
The cold, cold feeling was running up her veins, following the path as more and more of her body submitted to the will of the world. Her heart pounded, drumming in her ears the most terribly sound she knew. Her lungs trembled with the exertion of her breath until the final sweep of the land closed in to devour her.
RAGE's four black eyes watched the seal finish, watched the power of the devil within her return Terra Nostra to the earth. Her energy backpedaled, returning to her aura. There she stood, the stone goddess Terra Nostra, locked away in the trap of her own element.
RAGE raised her hand and stared at the energy in her grip. Her cruel smile took over and twisted her features. RAGE had taken over and showed her power and her destructive appetite.
"Tordoras Corde Lethe Boyum Ookumai Hesberain!" (I have control of Lethe and I will rule all!)
Her body lurched suddenly; a tremor of dispute echoing out from inside her body. RAGE
found her control flex and weaken for just a second, Raven's purple eyes returned. The sword of her creation fell to the floor, vanishing into nothing, all the energy dispersing into the body that wielded her.
Raven's body moved, her face became tight with struggle. Her face tightened with pain. Her fists balled and shook at the sides of her chest. Into the air, she unleashed a destructive wave fueled by a world shattering scream.
…
Nightwing turned his head when he heard it.
"Raven?"
Something had echoed through the corridors, the trace was weak, but it was Raven's voice. Considering how far away his love was fighting, the volume of the scream had to be of a magnitude unimaginable.
It ran a chill up his spin.
A shoulder tackle knocked him to the floor. He landed solidly to see Cyborg on top of him and the wave of energy meant for his life missed. The cybernetic fighter got to his feet then exploded into the air with his sonic cannon. Nightwing got to his feet and saw D'ucel unleash a frenzy of Fox Shots, clouding the air in front of him. Arsenal's arrows exploded to keep the guard up and Nightwing realized what they were doing.
They had heard it too and were creating a distraction. Nightwing stared forward at the fight in his team. Blackfire's eyebeams. In his mind, a smiling Starfire flashed. Tempest's spin kick hurled rock fragments into the fray. In his mind, he saw Arsenal winking mischievously.
He saw all of his team. He closed his eyes just once and gave a silent thank you to all of them before he turned and ran from the battle. Behind his retreating an energy coil dashed to attack him. It never made it. Sakura and Jinx tumbled into the way, deflecting the attack with their combined stand.
…
Nevermore was trembling. HappinesS's feet slipped from under her. She was saved from the ground by TimiD and the two internal soldiers stared forward at what had become on Lethe's mind state.
"What do we do? We don't have the power to stop her." DespaiR yelled over the torrent of RAGE's waking energy. The spiral of red was taking form, spreading out into the pores of space that controlled Lethe's identity.
"The Mesamune! It must hold!"
The weaker states watched the sword echo its power to match the wind of RAGE. The energy spun through the void with destructive grace to match the uncontrolled fury in Lethe's most dangerous fraction.
Amethyst eyes watched the power clash and spiral around each other. From the pedestal beneath the energy of gold, the Mesamune emitted white energy, from the arch of RAGE, black might fought back.
TimiD and DespaiR covered their eyes while HappinesS and JoY braved to move forward. "They're winning! The Mesamune is winning!" JoY shouted.
"Because we believe in them! We may not be able to be strong for Lethe now… but we can be strong for Brave and Knowledge!" HappinesS shouted back.
The ring of Lethe tu Raven's mind stood in an arch on the land base south of the floating pedestal of the Mesamune.
In unison they all screamed the most powerful words they knew.
"AZARATH FAERIDOS REX!"
…
Nightwing slid and dashed between falling rocks and collapsing walls. His hands became cut and stained a thin path of blood against the cave walls and stones he used for balance. The floor collapsed beneath him, dropping him a story before he unleashed a grappling hook and returned him to base. He rolled tightly, letting the momentum push him forward in his desperate run to find her.
He found her.
He could see she was weakened from the curve of her body. But she was still strong. She was dressed in white, wearing a uniform reminiscent of their childhoods. Her white cloak fell down her back. Her black dress clung to her body, the long slit up the right leg allowed her body to move: to collapse forward and use a single hand a brace her fall. Her hand landed on the statue of Terra Nostra.
She gasped for breath as the fight in her mind calmed down. Each exhale dipped her head forward and each inhale brought it back. Her throat was dry and pained. Everything hurt. But she braved the pain and opened her eyes: her two beautiful amethyst eyes.
She heard the rumble and jumped backwards, realizing what she was touching. She stared down at her hand and found a clod of stone had rubbed off from the statue of Terra Nostra. Her eyes opened in terror, her hand mechanically turning to dump the clod from her hand. She took a step back. Nightwing took a step forward.
"Raven." He said.
She turned to him, terror still apparent in her eyes as she looked back to the partially mutilated statue. "I didn't mean to… I mean… I…I can't…"
"Raven." He said again and stepped closer. Her huge eyes were wavering, but his were perfectly still behind his mask. Her heartbeat calmed under his embrace. "The fact that no one will make the same mistake we did is punishment enough"
Raven nodded. He understood. Somehow he always did.
"Can you still fight?" He asked.
Raven nodded. Her energy ran through him and cleansed his body of wounds. Her finger tips touched just slightly, the cleaned cut on his palm. "Can you fight beside me?"
Nightwing nodded in response. Raven inhaled deeply before grabbing the edge of her cloak and twirling it over their heads: her energy wrapping around them and teleported them deeper into the cave.
End of part two.
Images of Fight Raven and Fight Terra, with weapons, are posted.