Chapter 12
With the lava gone, Robin barely recognized where they are, but finally found a familiar landmark, when they come up to the place where he and Slade parted company. Slade to regain his flesh and blood, and himself to find Raven, and bring her back to save the world. The path that Robin had taken back then was not an option this time, as a landslide had sealed off the tunnel he passed through to reach the ruined church that he found Raven in, so they turned to the left, and crossed the bridge.
"What caused that?" Robin asked, as the globe Mathias had been using to light their way simply vanished into the darkness ahead.
"Cataflame illuminare!" the Arch Mage chanted, bringing forth another globe, and the chant was echoed by both Anella, and Raven, and the area was almost to well lit, by the three sources of light.
"The monks always said I was a fast learner." Raven said, with a small blush, as Anella, and Mathias, gave her curious glances.
"Hold yours here, Raven," Mathias said, "Anella and I will send ours into the blackness together and see what happens." Raven nodded, and two of the globes moved forward, only to be absorbed into the inky blackness.
"This poses a problem, my husband." Anella commented dryly.
"Let me try something." Robin said, as he moved to the edge of the darkness. A quick flip of his wrist, and three discs flew into it, and the sound of their detonation could be heard, but the bright flash was nowhere to be seen.
"Another dragon?" Beast Boy asked.
"I don't believe so." Anella said, "This feels. . . .different somehow." she added, thoughtfully.
They stood there a few moments, Anella, and Mathias conversing in low tones, trying to figure out what was causing the darkness.
Without a word to anyone, Starfire approached the edge of the gloom, then raised her right hand into the air, surrounded with star bolt energy, letting it act as a torch, and stepped into the blackness, which enveloped her like a fog. "I am only able to see a short distance into the darkness." her voice said, seemingly from out of nowhere.
"Starfire, come back, now!" Raven called urgently, and suddenly Anella, seemed to sense the same thing Raven did.
"Yes Starfire, come back now, follow our voices if you have to!" she called, then breathed a sigh of relief as the edge of the blackness glowed faintly with a green light.
"It suddenly got very cold in here." Star's voice said, then she screamed, and the sound of several star bolts being fired could be heard, along with some other sounds.
"Starfire!" Robin shouted, hoping she'd follow his voice. In theory, he was right, but in practice, she actually came flying, backwards, as though thrown, about ten feet off the ground. Quickly gauging her trajectory, Robin fired one of his grapnels into a nearby stalactite, and swung into the air, catching her as she started to fall to the ground.
"Thhaat wwaasss mmmooossttt unnnppppllleessent." Starfire said through chattering teeth, as Robin set her down. Even through his gloves, he could feel how cold she was.
"She's alright Robin, just chilled through." Anella said, as she came over to them, her empathic powers reaching out to Starfire. "Can you tell me what happened?" she asked.
Starfire, took a couple of deep breaths, and struggled to get her shivering under control, before she spoke. "I was just about to the edge of the darkness, and, like I reported, it got very cold, and I could tell that there were. . . .beings in the darkness, and they suddenly started grabbing at me." she related, "I fired star bolts at them, but they had no effect on them, and the next thing I know, something slammed into me, and shoved me out of the darkness."
"Alright then, lets try fighting darkness with darkness." Raven said, as she took the lotus position, floating a few feet above the ground. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" she chanted, and a black form in her shape came from her body and blended with the darkness.
There was silence, and several of the group found that they had been holding their breath, as the silence dragged on. They all jumped when there was a hair raising scream that shattered the silence, and a second later, Raven's soul self exited from the darkness, and returned to her body.
"Raven, are you alright?" Robin asked, as he moved to her side, as she stood.
"I'm fine, Robin." Raven replied, as she lowered her hood, then turned to Anella and Mathias, "I don't know what it was, but it's gone now."
"As is the darkness." Starfire said as she walked up. The others looked, and sure enough, the darkness was gone, revealing a chamber, again with holes in the floor, beyond the archway.
The remainder of the journey was very short, as when the entered the chamber they saw Memnoch standing about twenty yards away, his hands coming up.
"Titan's go!" Robin shouted, throwing several explosive disks at their foe, only to see them detonate against a defensive shield. "Raven, Mathias, Anella, get ready!" he added, as he ran toward Memnoch. "Sonic boom!" he shouted to Cyborg, who was also closing the range with Memnoch.
"Gotcha!" Cyborg replied, readying his sonic cannon. He watched, as Robin threw four of his disks, at where Memnoch stood, and he took aim, timing it so his sonic blast hit, at precisely the same time, as Robin disks exploded.
Taking the cue that Memnoch's shield was down, along with their foe, Starfire performed a strafing run of star bolts, and eye beams, which pushed Memnoch back against the wall. Pushing his hand out, he launched a burst of flame, that slammed into the on rushing Tamaranean, and knocked her from the air.
Beast Boy had been moving toward Memnoch, ever since Robin had said go, so he was nearest to him. Seeing he was close enough, he morphed into a turtle shaped dinosaur, with a club shaped tail, and swung it at him, sending him flying across the chamber. "Now that we know how he tricked us, he ain't got nothing!" he said, morphing back into human form.
"Robin, now!" Mathias shouted, letting him know that they were ready.
"Titan's retreat!" Robin ordered, and they quickly got behind the three mages.
"Demonum, vederon, sendorum!" Mathias chanted,
"Departium, asterium, zenthrax!" Chanted Anella.
"Aldruon Enlenthra Nalthos Sola Narisnor!" Raven shouts, using the spell that she did against Malchior.
They all watched as a large, multicolored, swirling disk appeared behind Memnoch, and several small rocks were sucked into it. Memnoch searched, in vain, for something to hang onto, to keep him from being pulled into the portal. "NNNooooooooo!" he cried, as he lost the fight with the power pulling him in and he was pulled off his feet, and through the portal, which then winked back out of existence, leaving the chamber in silence again. Mathias and Anella, leaned on each other for support, and Raven was on her hands and knees, panting slightly for a moment, then slowly stood up.
Starfire slowly headed toward the group, as the Titans gathered around the two older mages, celebrating their victory. She watched as Raven slowly walked over to them, her near exhaustion evident in her every step. As the dark Titan passed a hole in the floor, a tentacle sprang up, and whipped toward her. "SHALAY'FA!" she cried in alarm, knowing she was to far away to help.
Not knowing what Starfire had shouted, everyone looked up at her, everyone that is, except Anella.
"Dovana, Quidado, Lumos!" The green robed Mage shouted, her hand outstretched toward Raven, and, at the last second, a blue aura of force surrounded Raven, keeping the tentacle from stinging her. "Ungh!" Anella groaned, as she struggled to keep the tentacle from harming Raven. "Someone do something, I can't keep this up for long!"
Star's anger showed in the bright green glow of her eyes, and the tone of cold fury in her voice, "You shall not have to!" she shouted, then dove into the nearest hole, watched by the rest of the group.
"Anella!" Mathias shouted, as his wife was suddenly surrounded by a small forest of the black appendages. His shout served its purpose, as the first tentacle, that moved in Anella's direction, was hit with a light blue burst from Cyborg's sonic cannon.
"Titan's go!" Robin shouted, as he threw some spheres at one of the tentacles, freezing it solid, then followed them with some exploding disks, which shattered it.
Raven watched all this, knowing she was in serious trouble, The shield Anella threw up was the strongest the Arch Mage knew how, which prevented Raven from teleporting, or phasing out of her predicament. She also realized that if Anella hadn't reacted so quickly, she would now have dozens of poisoned stingers in her lifeless body. Unfortunately, with the shield being put up at the last possible moment, it conformed to her body, and as the tentacle tightened it's grip, she could feel herself slowly being crushed.
Just then she noticed green flashes, coming from the holes, near where Starfire had gone underground, and four or five of the tentacles, first stiffened, then went limp, and Raven's hopes were raised, as she watched those flashes grow nearer.
"Hurry Starfire, I can't keep this up much longer." Anella muttered, sweat beading on her forehead, her hair plastered to her cheeks, as she struggled to maintain the shield around Raven. "Mathias catch her!" she shouted, as the tentacle holding Raven, suddenly shuddered, and went limp, as did the others surrounding Anella.
Mathias, held his hand up, and the blue aura, around Raven, was replaced with red, as he levitated her to the ground.
"Raven?" a weary, and worried Starfire called, as she climbed out of a nearby hole, and saw her friend laying, still, on the ground,
"She'll be fine Starfire." Anella assured her, "She wasn't stung, but she was squeezed tight enough, that she blacked out from lack of air." she explained.
"I am proud of you, my wife." Mathias said, putting his arm around her shoulders, and looking proudly at her.
Anella was silent for a moment, watching Starfire's happiness as Raven woke up. She also took stock of her own feelings, then looked back at her husband. "She is a good teacher, even when she isn't trying." she said softly, giving a small nod in Starfires direction, "I am almost sorry that this is over."
Mathias nodded, knowing the feelings running through his wife. "Nothing says we have to leave right away." he told her softly, and was rewarded with a broad smile, and a hug.
"Friend Anella, I wish to thank you." Starfire said, as she and Raven walked up to them. "You saved Raven's life, even though it left you defenseless, friend."
Anella opened her mouth, to protest, to tell Starfire that she would have done what she did, for anyone in the group, but then realized that she would have done so, not because it was her duty as an Arch Mage, but because it was the right thing to do, and she realized, it was the young woman in front of her, that had brought about that change in her. "I am honored, that you call me friend, and I will not betray that trust again." she said in Tamaranean, taking the hand that Star offered, and shaking it.