NOTE: Once again, I apologize for my sad attempt at making a language (sighs apologetically). This is the last chapter, so I hope it's good (crosses fingers and hopes)...
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The True Meaning of Sacrifice
by: IHOP
Chapter 8 – Ultimate Sacrifice
"ENOUGH!" Raven shouted, her voice echoing and silencing the temple. She ascended into the air solemnly, dark energy subtly radiating throughout her body. She closed her eyes and began a new chant, each word falling from Raven's mouth like stone:
"Renui, bandonalm. Tem, odom, til com sespad. Op amal consespad derosa dei senca. Ade puram sacra!"
Raven's eyes glowed white and she was fully consumed by the radiating energy around her. Her soul self—again the figure of a bird, but this time white—charged from her body and into Trigon. He bellowed in agony as he was electrified by Raven's spirit. There was an explosion of light as the demon slowly dissolved. In his place was nothing, save for a shower of glittering white sparks resulting from the blast. Raven's body fell to the ground.
Beast Boy had been thrown clear by the explosion. He rubbed his throbbing head in a temporary daze. His alertness soon returned, however, when he saw Raven's sudden descent.
"Raven!" he exclaimed, hastily rushing to her side. Grief-stricken, he saw the complexion of her face fade away, and she looked even paler than usual. Raven lay completely motionless, and all signs of breathing had ceased. "Raven...?" Beast Boy murmured, his eyes becoming moist with the beginnings of tears. He lifted her arm, feeling its limpness. He stroked her cheek lightly, unable to fathom what had just happened. "Raven..." his voice sank to a level that was barely audible, and he lowered his head mournfully.
Beast Boy's anguish was suddenly interrupted by a loud rumbling. The repercussions of the explosion had triggered instability in the temple, and what ensued was its delayed-reaction collapse as rocks began to tumble from the ceiling and the ground shook violently. At that moment, an immediate change overcame Beast Boy; his sorrow was replaced by determination and what could only be described as rage. He transformed into the creature from The Beast Within, lifted Raven's spiritless form and clutched her against him protectively, and darted through the doorway, large fragments of gravel trailing just behind him and closing off the outlet just as he passed through it.
It was at this point that Beast Boy faced the precariously placed stairway of stones that marked his only escape. Only hesitating for a moment, he leapt onto a boulder that laid about one-seventh of the total distance to the rift above, still grasping Raven in one arm, while using the other for balance. Moving with speed and agility that surprised even himself, Beast Boy scaled the wall in seconds, faltering only slightly a few times. He managed to escape just in time, for the second after he surfaced, the entire temple had been reduced to a pit of rubble, completely concealed from the above world.
Beast Boy laid Raven on the ground with the greatest of care, making certain not to add any scratches or bruises to her already battered body. He resumed human form, sweat falling from his brow, but not even noticeable among the river of tears streaming down his wounded face. He cradled Raven's lifeless body in his arms and gently brushed her hair away from her benumbed, closed eyes. This can't be happening, he thought, though reality appeared before him with a cruel bluntness. Why do I have to lose those who are close to me? Then, a new revelation dawned on him. Raven wasn't lying; she really would do anything for me! And she proved it with her life. But I don't want her to leave me. I would rather die than live without her. She's gone now... and it's my fault. Why did I have to go into her room? Why couldn't I have just left my curiosity alone? Why! Beast Boy's thoughts became a raging stream of emotions as he felt sudden flashes of grief, heartbreak, guilt, and anger at himself.
He pulled Raven even closer, his face just above hers. "Raven..." Beast Boy whispered tearfully, "you can't leave me. Please don't go." He knew his words were useless, but he insisted on speaking to the motionless girl, praying for some sort of miracle to make her respond. "I... I love you, Raven," he murmured sorrowfully, and he lightly brushed his lips against hers, longing to experience the touch of his beloved one more time, cold and spiritless though she may have been. Feeling no warmth returned from Raven's unresponsive lips, a distraught Beast Boy despondently reached into a compartment in his belt and placed his penny in her unmoving hand, laid his head just below her shoulder, and wept.
Suddenly, Beast Boy heard and felt some sort of thumping. It seemed to be coming from Raven; it felt like a heartbeat. His eyes bolted open in disbelief. It can't be, can it? He drew back and noticed that she appeared to be breathing, and she was now shrouded in an aura of bluish-white light. He gasped as the light just barely touched him, as well, and their visible injuries seemed to melt away. Then, just as softly as it had appeared, the light faded away, lingering just a few moments longer on Raven's face. She stirred gently and her eyes fluttered open, her first sight being Beast Boy's shocked, yet overjoyed, expression.
"R-Raven?" Beast Boy gasped, hoping that his imagination wasn't fooling him.
Raven gave a silent nod and smiled. "And at the risk of sounding cliché..." she began, a flash of sprightly irony in her voice, "... I love you, too, Beast Boy." She blushed as she spoke the words she had never dared to say to anyone before.
Beast Boy immediately drew her against him once more in a joyous embrace. Then, after a few moments, a puzzled expression appeared on his face, and he lightly broke from the hug. "But, Raven... how did you—"
Raven stopped him. "I used a spell called Sacrifice, which required me to give up my life in order to destroy the darkness. But there's a second part: if the spell is done in an act of pure, selfless love, and the love is returned, then even death is powerless and can be undone. Beast Boy, I'm only alive right now because you loved me. Thank you."
"Well, I think I can say the same to you," Beast Boy said with a grin, tears of joy just barely passing his eyes. There was a pause as they exchanged gazes, each appreciating the other. They shyly drew closer, sharing a brief, sweet kiss. "Come on, let's go home," the changeling offered warmly, standing as he placed Raven on her feet.
Raven, still feeling a bit drained, had trouble keeping her balance, and Beast Boy quickly supported her, placing her arm across his shoulders. Raven closed her eyes and chanted, "Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos..." and they disappeared in a vessel of dark energy.
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Beast Boy and Raven reappeared at the entrance of the Titans Tower common room, where the others had already returned. Upon seeing the two Titans alive and largely unharmed, Starfire flew over to them and engulfed them in one of her overpowering hugs.
"Friends!" the Tamaranian exclaimed with pure joy. "I am so relieved to see you undamaged. We all did much of the worrying for your well-being." A quick look at their bluish, air-deprived faces signaled her to end her embrace with a sheepish beam.
"Yeah," Robin said as he and Cyborg approached the scene, "we had just gotten back from the city, and we were organizing a search to find you."
At the mention of Jump City, Cyborg could hardly contain himself. "It was insane out there! Those flame things nearly set the whole city on fire, then they vanished all of a sudden, and everything returned to normal."
Raven finally explained her knowledge of the subject, beginning with her and Beast Boy's recount of what caused the changeling's plight. She then added, "Every time Beast Boy suffered an attack, it triggered the appearances of those demons. The worse the attack, the more powerful they were."
The Titans were silent for a moment, partially from confusion, because Beast Boy and Raven had not yet given any detail as to how they had defeated Trigon's darkness. After even more silence assured them that they probably never would reveal what happened, Cyborg checked the digital clock built into his arm.
"Hey! I think it's time for movie night!" the cybernetic teen proclaimed with excitement. He bolted toward the Titans' collection of videos, eagerly selecting several movies that caught his eye.
"Great idea," replied Robin, who started toward the kitchen. "I'll go make some popcorn." Starfire followed the Boy Wonder enthusiastically, anxious to watch the preparation of the delicious Earth snack.
Beast Boy and Raven glanced at each other and exchanged lighthearted smiles, both relieved that everything had returned to normal. They sat down next to each other on the couch, almost unaware that they were only inches apart.
As Robin and Starfire joined the pair on the sofa with a piping hot bowl of popcorn, Cyborg put the first movie he could grab from his pile into the DVD player. He rushed to the light switch and turned off the lights, then leapt onto the couch in between Robin and Starfire and Raven and Beast Boy.
The movie started. It was some sort of romantic comedy, but Raven didn't notice the title of it; she was too exhausted from the recent events she had experienced. She yawned drowsily as various images flashed on the giant-screen television. Glancing to her right, she observed Robin with his arm around Starfire and Cyborg laughing uproariously at every scene. She then peered to her left, where Beast Boy was viewing intently, but with an unusual silence. At last she nodded off, drifting peacefully against Beast Boy's chest. The changeling was startled at the light pressure he suddenly felt, and looked down at Raven, who was enjoying the comfortable warmth of his body. He smiled to himself, a reddish tint surfacing on his face. Suddenly relaxed, Beast Boy found his eyelids grow heavy as he, too, drifted asleep.
Several hours later, the Titans finished watching all of Cyborg's selected movies. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg all rose to go to bed, when they were stopped dead by an unexpected sight: Raven was fast asleep on Beast Boy's lap, and Beast Boy, who was also asleep, had one arm laid gently on Raven's back. They were both smiling subtly. What proceeded were gasps by a surprised Robin and Starfire and muffled snickers from an amused Cyborg. Finally deciding not to disturb them, the three Titans quietly tiptoed to their rooms.
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Early the next morning, at the onset of sunrise, Raven awoke, craving her habitual morning herbal tea. Without moving, however, she felt an arm around her, and looked up to see Beast Boy still peacefully asleep. She sighed and let a smile escape her usually stoical face. Then she closed her eyes, gently returning her weight to Beast Boy's lap. The tea can wait, she thought as she allowed herself to fall asleep once more, a gleaming lucky penny still clutched in her hand.
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The end! How was it? I'm not usually good with endings, but I hope it was okay.
Review, please.