I came through the other side of the barrier. I shielded my eyes from the blinding light ahead; blinking a few times as I finally was able to make out the scene in front of me.

Raven was focusing on breaking the stones. Already two of them were illuminated, glowing red and silver. Only the third remained.

Three Laer were occupying Cyborg and Robin. A fourth appeared. I entered hyper-mode, racing over to where Raven was levitating, focusing her black energy on breaking the third stone. I knocked her to the ground, breaking her focus as her eyes returned to blue. She looked up at me and yelled out.

"CHRONE!"

The battle seemed to pause for a moment. Cyborg, Robin, and all four Laer looked over towards me. Robin and Cyborg glared at me icily.

They were drawn back into the battle as the Laer took action once again. Raven looked over towards me. Suddenly, my body was consumed by her black energy. She forced me up against the wall of the cavern, suspending me like a crucifix.

She immediately went back to working on the stone. I could see the cracks forming. There wasn't much time. Another Laer materialized, joining the others in combating Robin and Cyborg.

I tested the strength of the bonds that held me. I could flex my muscles. Raven was obviously focusing the majority of her energy on opening the gate. I tensed my limbs against the energy; it was still holding me taunt. I managed to get one of my spikes against the wall. I managed to pick a few good-sized rocks off of the wall. They fell to the ground. Once again, Raven was distracted as the rocks fell down upon her form. Diverting her energy from me to block the falling projectiles, I fell to the ground, landing in a heap.

I jumped up, brushed myself off, and turned my attention towards Raven once again. Chips of the rock were falling away, cracks spider-webbing outwards.

The world seemed to stand still as a bright light enveloped the entire cavern. A great wind burst from the stones, smacking all of our forms against the walls. Only the Laer remained standing, and even then, they had crouched to the floor to lessen the effects of the blow.

The dust cleared. Every single pair of eyes was staring at the stones. The third one slowly came to life, glowing as the others were. The stones were broken, the gate had been opened.

The Laer immediately took action. Many more materialized. Three of the Laer's lighted ropes seized Robin and Cyborg by various limbs. Robin struggled against the ropes, only to have them pull tighter until he screamed out in defeat, falling to the floor.

Cyborg fired off his cannon at the rope. The energy was absorbed into the rope, racing down the tendrils of light until they reached Cyborg. Energy met flesh; he fell to the ground, smoke rising from several places on his body.

Raven on the other hand just teleported through the ropes as they ensnared her form. One of the Laer walked out in front of the others and threw some sort of disc at her. It grew larger as it flew until it was a good two feet in diameter. It hovered above Raven for a moment as she stared up at it. It fell down upon her and restricted until her arms were held taunt against her body. I could see her eyes flicker from blue to white as she tried to teleport to no avail. Two Laer grabbed each of the renegade titans. I was next.

The three remaining Laer stepped in my direction. I scrambled to my feet as they approached. I had seen them move, I new they could materialize at will. Two threw their lassos at me. I entered hyper-mode, racing in the opposite direction. I was jerked to a halt as I fell to the ground. I looked back; a lighted cord was entwined around my ankle. Two Laer approached, hauling me to my feet as they removed their rope and held me still, one on each arm.

I was forcibly walked until I was right next to the others. A new Laer had materialized, looked over the damage, the broken stones, and the now glowing gate. He walked towards us. It was the same Laer I seemed to run into just about everywhere.

"Foolish mortals. Do you have any idea what you have done? The seals have been broken; Gyrnn is now free to roam into the Baskire." The other titans stared at him in confusion. They had no idea what was going on. He walked up to me in particular.

"I warned you stranger to stay out of the affairs of others. And yet, here you are. But as foolish as you are, you did not play any part in opening the gate. For that, you will be spared the death that your companions will have to face. Your death shall be a quick one, I cannot say the same for your friends."
"They didn't know. You can't punish them for what happened."

"They might not have known, but it was their power that broke the stones, and someone must suffer the retribution. Not only has this gate been activated, but ones in three other locations in the Baskire. All were dependent upon those stones. Gyrnn must be lured here. I will summon every Laer in the Baskire and perhaps by some miracle we can beat him back. Only one thing will draw him to this gate. The blood of a mortal. Your friends will serve their purpose."

"Why the hell do you need human blood?"

"Gyrnn is drawn to blood. It is his life force. Once the blood is dropped through the gate, his attention will shift here. He hasn't had the taste of blood on his tongue for many millennia."
I looked over at the titans. Robin shifted back and forth nervously; Cyborg's eyes stared at the ground. Even Raven seemed affected by the revelation that they were to be used as human bait to attract a creature with unseen power.

I knew what I had to do. I came here to save my friends, and I would do just that. I thrust my arms against my two captors, entering hyper-mode as I raced across the chamber and over to the gate.

I pulled my knife from its sheath as I raised it into the air. The gate seemed to almost pull me in. I had to shift backwards to keep from being drawn in. I placed the blade against the palm of my hand, closing my fist around it. I closed my eyes as I drew the blade against flesh; fresh blood seeped from the large wound. I let the blade fall to the ground as I raised my palm into the air. Blood poured down my arm. The first drops rolled off at my elbow. Instead of falling to the ground, they were pulled to the gate. The first drops met the white gate, and disappeared.

The Laer floated towards me on his blanket of light until he was just a few inches away from my face.

"You are a foolish one mortal. For now you will suffer in the place of your friends. It was your blood that entered the gate, and it is now your blood that calls to Gyrnn."

He shook his head at me. I looked back and noticed that two Laer stood behind me.
"Prepare him for the ceremony."

They grabbed me. I tried to struggle. I managed to break free, entering hyper-mode. I made it about fifteen feet before I felt something wrap around my neck, pulling me to a grinding halt as I fell to the ground, struggling to breathe.

The Laer came up, taking his rope off of my neck as his two companions grabbed me, this time by both arms. I didn't have a chance to put up a fight.

The three other titans were dragged off towards the other end of the chamber while I was led to the center. Not one of them uttered a word, but all of them had their eyes locked on me as they were led away.

I on the other hand was led to the center of the chamber where an elevated stone platform stood with a column on either end of the raised ground. I was dragged up the stairs to the top of it. The two Laer grabbed their ropes; one was wrapped around each wrist.

They stretched the ropes towards each of the pillars. One was tied to each pillar. The ropes were pulled tight until my shoulders were groaning in protest, as I stood there, suspended like a crucifix for the second time.

The lead Laer came up to me once again. This time he had a golden dagger in one of his hands. He floated towards me. He stopped in front of me. Taking the dagger he cut off the upper portion of my suit, leaving my bare chest bare. I shivered from the new chill that assaulted my body.

"It was your blood that attracted Gyrnn to this gate, but the flow must remain constant or he will veer off towards another gate. We need him to come here, where my forces will lay in wait. You have chosen a terrible fate mortal."

He raised the dagger into the air. I didn't even flinch as the blade cut into my flesh across the chest. He didn't go very deep, about a quarter inch, deep enough to go into muscle and draw blood to the surface.

He withdrew the blade and moved it towards my shoulder.

The blade fell again.

I watched him intently.

The blood began to flow. Hot and sticky, down my chest in beads. After the fifth cut I lost count. They all blurred into one. He carved symbols and patterns all over the right side of my body.

The blade fell.

I couldn't hide the pain. I screamed. The guttural cry of a wounded animal. The blade came down again. My eyes never left the red tinted knife as it carved up my living flesh. The screaming lasted for an eternity. Rivers of blood cascaded from newly created wounds. I struggled at first as the torture persisted, the lighted ropes holding me still as they burned my flesh. Red fluid dripped to the floor, pulled towards the gate.

The blade fell.

My legs gave out and the blade came down again. My shoulders screamed from the weight they now bore. My hands closed into fists as blood dripped, flowed, covering my entire chest and neck. I stared into his lifeless eyes. I saw no emotion; he refused to look at me as he continued.

The blade fell.

The tears came next. My god the pain. They ran red by the time they hit my neck. My head dropped to my chest as my strength slowly waned. My cries of pain had been reduced to a stifled sob.

The blade fell.

I looked to the puddle of red beneath my feet. My blood, my life force was being drained to draw another.

The blade fell.

I managed to raise my head and look over to where my three companions stood in a cage made of light. At first, they had tried to break out, but their efforts were futile. They had been reduced to watching me. Raven stared at me. Cyborg stared at me. Robin stared at me.

The blade fell.

My skin flinched under the now warm blade. A cut across the abdomen.

The blade fell.

The arms and neck were next. More symbols. By some miracle I was still conscious as a low growl erupted from beyond the gate.

The Laer backed up, eying his creation, carved into my flesh. I looked at him. He withdrew a cloth from his cloak. Wiping the blood from the blade, he backed off, leaving me there on the platform, tethered between two poles.

I looked towards the gate. The stones began glowing brighter. A mixture of grey and red. Something flickered from beyond the gate. I looked. The tattered ends of a cloak appeared through the gate. A hand followed, a hooded head. I couldn't make out the figure; it was surrounded by a black midst.

It came through the gate. It easily stood ten feet tall. It approached the platform, drawn by my blood that was pooled at my feet. My shivers increased. The air had become unbearably cold as Gyrnn drew closer. My teeth chattered. The figure closed in, twenty feet, ten feet, and then it stood a mere five feet in front of me.

I tried to battle against the bonds to no avail. They merely tightened, burning my flesh even more. Gyrnn ignored the fifty plus Laer that stood in wait for the orders attacked. There was fresh blood to be taken.

It reached a hand out of the midst. I watched it come closer as it reached towards me. My eyes never left it. Blood froze against my flesh. My body shivered uncontrollably. The hand reached my face. Three claws protruded from the tattered remains of a sleeve. They met my flesh below my left eye. I screamed. It burned, worse than the blade. My body twitched. Skin broke, blood flowed down the creature's claws, and somehow up its arm and into the midst. It was draining my life force.

The claws dug deeper into my flesh. I could feel my eyes rolling back in my head. This is how it was going to end. Not a hero's death as I had envisioned it, but a death by the blood being slowly drained from my body.

Tears flowed from my eyes, freezing on my cheeks. The creature roared, the sound chilling me down to the bone.

My breaths came in raspy chokes. I knew in the back of my mind that I was dying. A bright flash of light, something entered the midst.

The hand withdrew from my face. My body fell slack against the bonds that held me. The figure turned towards the Laer who had disrupted its meal. It bellowed a rage filled scream as more balls of energy cascaded down upon the midst.

The creature blurred towards the nearest Laer. Three claws impaled it. No cry could be heard. The Laer died without a sound, eyes open the whole way down as Gyrnn let it fall to the ground.
The Laer were upon the form. Energy striking the midst, swords swinging as they tried to subdue the beast. Gyrnn threw his arms outwards. Laer were sent flying in every direction, landing in heaps on the ground.

Few of them got up. Many did not rise. The lead Laer approached the figure. Several Laer circled around the beast. I was in their circle. In unison they raised their hands into the air and began chanting a string of words I didn't recognize. Their bodies glowed brighter as the beast cried out. Gyrnn turned towards the lead Laer, and charged towards him with a battle cry.

A shield of light sent Gyrnn flying back into the center of the circle; he landed on the platform right in front of me. I looked down at the beast as it rose to its feet. The midst increased in density until I couldn't even make out the figure's most vague feature.

It came towards me once again. I could feel the cold air dancing around my body sending chills through my every nerve. I struggled against the ropes that held me taunt. To my surprise, I dropped to the ground; one of the ropes had been severed. I could feel the blood against my body beginning to freeze again. Gyrnn was getting closer.

I tried to rise to my feet. I stumbled. Blood loss was catching up to me. I shakily steadied myself against the closest pillar. I took the time to note that a birdorang was sticking out of the column. Robin had freed me.

I stumbled away from the pillar and toward the midst, towards Gyrnn and most likely my demise. But I had made a promise to Kraet; I had promised him that I would not allow Gyrnn to destroy the Baskire. A promise that I would fulfill by any means necessary. Including laying down my life.

Just as I was about to limp towards Gyrnn, the air around us filled with a blinding light. I shielded my eyes. Gyrnn bellowed a cry as the midst began to dissipate, revealing his figure for the first time.

A hooded cloak hid much of his figure, but I could make out a set of red eyes staring back at me from beneath his hood. Red droplets dripped from his chin and down the front of his tattered robe. My blood.

The light grew brighter. Some invisible force clung to my form. Gravity seemed to intensify as I was dragged to the ground unable to even twitch a muscle, as I lay there useless. The Laers' forces were having a similar effect upon Gyrnn as his knees slowly bucked and he was pulled to the ground next to me. Somehow he managed to move a hand towards my face. The claws. I screamed again as he reached out to my face, drawing three parallel marks across my cheek beneath his previous puncture wounds.

A soft clicking noise gurgled from his throat as I began breathing hard. My body was wracked with spasms as the blood began to flow again. The tears, the pain blinded me as my vision was enveloped in red.

A lighted lariat flew through the air and landed around the creature's neck. It seemed to have little affect; Gyrnn was preoccupied with consuming what could be his final meal for many millennia more to come.

tried to scoot away to no avail; Gyrnn was not willing to let his prey escape. More ropes ensnared his form. The ropes were pulled taunt and he was slowly dragged backwards, away from me. His claw slid away from my face and I was left lying on the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

The force keeping me pinned to the ground suddenly lifted and I felt a lot lighter. Not that I could move, the blood loss was catching up with me. The world was fading out. I could hear the cries of Gyrnn from somewhere in the cavern. All I could see was shadows. The world went black…