NOTE: Yes, I made up the words in the Cleansing Incantation. I used real languages and changed the words to make it a fake language. I apologize again if you don't like them, but please don't get all mad and complain; just make up your own words if you want. Sorry, I am not a great linguist.
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The True Meaning of Sacrifice
by: IHOP
Chapter 7 – The Worst Attack
As they continued to fall, Raven noticed that the ground was approaching them rapidly. Thinking quickly, she immediately enclosed Beast Boy and herself in a bubble of dark energy. They then floated gently the rest of the way to the ground, popping the bubble upon landing.
"Dude, what just happened?" Beast Boy inquired as he stood, holding his head dizzily. They examined their surroundings—a small area of bluish sand and more oddly formed rocks. Behind them was a series of stones piled upon each other, almost like stairs, but too immense and precarious to be climbed. In front of them was a flat wall with a small opening that looked like a doorway. Inscribed next to the aperture were some sort of otherworldly symbols.
"This is the temple," Raven conveyed after studying the signs carefully. She proceeded to walk through the entrance, Beast Boy following close behind. "It was originally built as a shrine for use by Azarathean missionaries." Inside, they found a surprisingly enormous room with more strange markings blanketing the walls. Columns were placed at each corner, and they were constructed to look something like Azarathean monks, which to Beast Boy meant that they looked like Raven when she had her hood up. In the very center was an elevated circular platform with still more symbols etched on its base.
Beast Boy and Raven both stood in awe at the ancient expanse before them. As if drawn to it by an outside force, Beast Boy approached the center platform and stepped onto it. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. Feeling a familiar ache coursing through his body, he bent down to wait out the oncoming attack. But what the changeling didn't realize was that this attack was exponentially more forceful than any of the previous ones. Again he was plagued with violent, uncontrollable spasms that thrust him back and forth like a lifeless rag doll. He grabbed his head in anguish, trying with all his might to stifle his antagonist, but he soon was effectively crippled as the darkness invaded his every nerve.
"Beast Boy!" Raven cried as soon as she witnessed her teammate collapse. She rushed toward him to heal him, but before she could make contact with him, a mountainous wall of thundering flame formed around Beast Boy, blocking him from Raven's aid. "No," she gasped, barely able to speak from both the suffocating flames and her paralyzing fear.
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A sudden, intense rumbling could be heard all throughout Jump City. The source was the old Town Square, where Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg remained on the lookout for another outburst of flame. Shortly after the booming sound was heard, blackness engulfed the area and a flash of blinding light appeared, just as the Titans had come to anticipate. However, this one was surprisingly more intense than any of the others. When the light finally vanished, it revealed the flame demons yet again, but this time there were seemingly thousands more than there had been before, and they immediately set the entire old section of the city ablaze.
The stunned Titans stared in sickening fright, for they knew that the three of them alone could not possibly contain them alone. Robin swiftly grabbed his communicator in desperation.
"Raven! Come in! Raven, are you there?" Robin shouted into the device. There was no response. "Raven!" the Boy Wonder tried again, but still no answer. Reluctantly, he closed his communicator, and the three Titans stared at the mass of flames, trying to figure out what to do, a tearful Starfire grasping Robin mournfully.
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Raven did not hear her communicator sound; the fire not only drowned out the noise, but also caught onto the device, shattering it in a small explosion. Raven hadn't noticed any of this, being far too preoccupied with the wall of flame that formed around Beast Boy.
A few moments later, the flames died down just enough to make the green Titan visible. His body was covered in glowing red markings in addition to the one on his hand (like Raven in Birthmark). He stood—Raven could tell not of his own accord—one vertebrae at a time, and his eyes opened, his usual friendly emeralds replaced with four red pools of light. Raven gasped. It's too late, she thought. The darkness is controlling him. Her prophetic nightmare was coming true right before her terrified eyes.
Behind Beast Boy, a huge, black shadow appeared, stretching to the heights of the temple itself. It had four glowing red eyes as well, and its presence raised the height of the flames once more. The ground trembled, and it made a sound almost distinguishable as a voice. It was a voice.
"Daughter," Raven immediately recognized the deep, frightening discourse emitting from the blackness as that of Trigon. "Did you honestly think you had seen the last of me? You should have known that you could never fully escape my wrath. And now your foolishness has cost you the soul of your dear friend."
"No!" Raven shouted as loud as she could over the chaos around her. "I may not be able to get rid of you, but I can still save my friend." She drew her hood and closed her eyes, and began masterfully reciting the Cleansing Incantation from memory:
"Spiritu dima implo. Gase antrus scur danfitri pore, liber vima infensa. Est prento dested."
White light emitted from Raven's hands as she completed the chant. It encircled the ring of flames and drowned it out. Then it began to radiate throughout the entire temple, blinding Raven temporarily. A huge wave of energy from the center platform punctuated the fading of the light a few seconds later, and Raven saw Beast Boy's body thrust through the air. She quickly flew towards him and broke his fall, sending them both into the wall.
"Beast Boy, are you all right?" Raven asked weakly after recoiling from the impact.
Beast Boy stirred as he began to regain consciousness. He was badly bruised, but the Mark of Scath had disappeared entirely, and his eyes had returned to normal. "Raven," he whispered with faint confusion, "what happened?"
"The darkness attacked you again," the telepath began, then, after noticing that the Mark of Scath was gone, she smiled. "But the Incantation worked; you're free." They shared a rejoicing embrace.
Unfortunately, their joyful moment was smashed by the sound of yet another tremor coming from the center platform. From within the opaque dust that had risen emerged a menacing figure. It was Trigon, but in a different form: he was black with red markings (instead of red with black markings), and much smaller than his true form, although still quite intimidating in stature. Abysmal flames burned underneath him.
"As I said before," the demon snarled with a ghastly rasp, "you will never escape my wrath!" He descended upon the two petrified Titans, scattering fire throughout the temple.
Raven quickly established a barrier of dark energy to evade the oncoming assault. When there was a break in the fiery barrage, Beast Boy and Raven attempted to counterattack, Beast Boy transforming into an elephant and charging, and Raven binding the dark being with a ring of black energy. However, Trigon broke through the dark ring and blocked Beast Boy's charge, sending him flying backward. Fortunately, Raven saved the changeling, who had returned to his normal form, from crashing into the wall again using her powers. Using this distraction to his advantage, Trigon produced a fireball in his hand and struck Raven, who fell to the ground. He then generated another flame in his hand and stood over the fallen girl, ready to finish her.
"Raven!" Beast Boy cried, changing into a cheetah and rushing toward her. He then transformed into a gorilla and thrust himself in front of Trigon's attack. The blow tossed him to the side, and he reverted to his normal form once more, a deep burn along his back. This averted the demon's attention to Beast Boy, and he continued his offensive on his new target.
Raven watched in horror as Trigon thrashed Beast Boy relentlessly. We can't defeat him, she thought dismally, tears beginning to escape from her eyes. There's only one option left. She finally stood and carefully pulled up her hood, with one thought echoing through her mind, giving her the strength to do what she knew she must:
Beast Boy, I won't let him hurt you anymore.
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That's chapter 7. Are you excited or bored? (the goal is to be excited, lol)
Chapter 8 coming as soon as I get to it.
Review, please.