DOTDF: I'm baaaack!

Everyone: WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?

DOTDF: (O.O')

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Drake, Seru, my dragons, and any new heartless I create.

Chapter 7: The Blade & The Beast

The Titans plunged towards the ground while the cats repeatedly jumped from wall to wall in a steady, downward spiral. Raven concentrated, and then Drake and the rest of the Titans found themselves encased in a black sphere that lowered them gently to the ground. Spirit and her children entered through the windows that had shattered as a result of the shockwave produced by Seru's punch. Sister Shadow, Sister Water, and Brother Fire were not strong enough to go head to head with these altered Heartless and decided to land on some remains of the second floor where they could take potshots at the ShadowCats. Spirit and Glimmer landed by their respective Chosen at the exact same time that all three cats' paws hit the ground. "Soooo…B.B.?" asked Cyborg, "Is their any chance you could…you know…convince these…animals…not to hurt us?" Beast Boy didn't answer. His mind however, was rethinking one thought over and over. 'Please let us get to her before they do.'

'She is close! I can sense it!' 'Are you sure Sis?' 'I'm positive! I can feel her spirit!' Two shapes glided across the grass of Jump City Central Park. 'There!' came a female voice from one of them, 'She is there, Brother.' The first shape gestured to a cave against one of the hills. 'Aw geez!' came a male voice from the second shape. 'In there?' he asked. 'In there…and far below!' she answered, 'She is deep within her element.' 'Okay then.' He said, 'Let's go pay her a visit.'

She was in hell. 'Its been so long.' She thought, 'They've tried many ways. Some of them hurt like hell, but all of them failed. It looks like I won't be with them now. Oh…Beast Boy…' Terra: a Teen Titan, a true friend, still stood trapped within her prison of stone, a solid, constant reminder of the result of her betrayal to her friends…no…her family. 'I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry guys…' She thought, 'Maybe you're really better off without me. I'm already dead…'

'Don't give up hope Terra!' came a voice within her head. Terra's mind snapped into attention, 'Raven? No… someone else.' Terra thought, 'Who are you?' She asked.

'A half of your puzzle, a friend.' Answered the voice. Now Terra focused on the area before her. The cave was the same as it was the last time she had looked at it. Now she recalled that not too long ago, He had made his truly terrifying resurrection. Even now she hated to even think his name. He had caught her in a moment of weakness and turned her against her own friends. She had struck him down and had herself been put into this living death by the aftermath of his demise. Yet that day he had risen. As he passed by her, he had raised a fist to smash her out of bitter vengeance, but then he had stopped, lowered his fist, and continued outside. It was as if had something more important to do. Now the cave was once again dark, but as Terra watched, what seemed to be two glowing, feathery lizards appeared at the entrance to the chamber. One was golden yellow, while the other was emerald green. Now that she focused, Terra saw that instead of feathers, the green one was in fact furry. The yellow lizard started to approach Terra's statue.

'I can sense it, Terra. Of all of them, your power made you stand out.' The voice in Terra's head continued, and now she was sure it came from the yellow lizard. 'You are the Chosen of the earth element.'

'Whoa! Hold up! Hold up!' said Terra, 'Just what are you talking about? What's a Chosen?'

'Sister Earth…' came another voice, and Terra knew that it had to be coming from the green lizard. 'We are short on time. You need to bring her up to date about this fairly quickly. I sense those foul creatures will soon be coming. I'll guard the entrance until our friends arrive. In the meantime you can give her the info she needs. After you're done, get ready for those creatures.' He said. 'Very well. Good luck Brother Wind! Stay safe.' Sister Earth said. 'Don't I always?' Brother Wind said with a low chuckle. He then turned and dashed out of the chamber. Sister Earth then turned to Terra, 'So then, there is much to discuss…'

Click! Click! Click! That was the only sound in the room as the ShadowCats advanced towards the Titans. Once again the air grew cold, but now it was almost like being stuck in a freezer. The evil aura the cats exuded was paralyzing. The Titans had strong wills however, and managed to snap free of the aura's grip. "Titans GO!" yelled Robin. Cyborg had recently adjusted his left arm and now it reconfigured into a curved sword that crackled as electricity ran across it. He charged towards one of the cats and raised his sword. "Eat this you black and blue fleabag!" He shouted as he brought the sword down. "Cyborg! No!" Drake yelled. He was too late. The sword struck dead on, but the result favored the cat. An invisible force deflected Cyborg's blade. As his weapon bounced back Cyborg saw three bluish-white glows gather where he had struck. Almost immediately the glows began to take on shapes. Before he could identify them, the shapes shot forward! Cyborg felt his body jerk and heard the sound of metal being sundered. Then he looked down and gasped at the three glowing spikes jammed cruelly in his torso. The cat then struck out viciously, whipping its paw in a heavy cuff that sent Cyborg slamming into a wall. "Aw geez! Cy!" Beast Boy yelled, and dashed to help his fallen partner. Another cat leapt into the air and changed shape. Beast Boy barely had time to register the cat's new blade-like shape before it slammed into him. He flew back and landed on top of Cyborg. The third cat extended its claws and began running toward the two. The Titans were barred by the other two cats and could not reach their prone comrades. "Spirit!" Drake yelled, and leapt forward. As he sailed over the cats, Drake was encased in an aurora glow. As he landed, the glow faded to reveal Drake in a shimmering suit of bladed armor. The suit's metal manipulated the light and different colors ran across the suit like water. Drake ran forward and threw out his hand. "Spirit Shot!" He screamed. A glowing multi-colored beam erupted from his palm and slammed into the cat, lifting it off the ground and sending it hurtling across the room. Drake made a huge leap after the cat and held out his hand again. While Starfire, Robin and the other dragons were preoccupying the other two cats; Raven and Spirit had reached Cyborg and Beast Boy. As Raven began healing Beast Boy's bruises, she managed to see what happened next. In Drake's hand materialized what Raven figured to be a sword. But something was different. The dimensions were all wrong. 'If I didn't know better…' thought Raven, '…I'd swear that was a…' 'Key?' came Spirit's mental voice. Raven looked back to see that Spirit had healed the punctures in Cyborg's torso. 'Spirit? What is that weapon he's using?' Raven asked. 'That, is what I believe your people would call an X-factor.' Answered Spirit. 'What do you mean?' 'That sword that he wields…' Spirit continued, '…is called a Keyblade.' 'Keyblade?' 'Yes.' Said Spirit. 'That blade is made of a very magical material. It can take on different shapes according to the wielder's will, mental state, and inner spirit. It can also occasionally be changed by outside influences.' 'That's incredible!' said Raven 'It's strange though…' Spirit grumbled. 'Why is that?' asked Raven. 'That blade had no mention in the prophecy.' Said Spirit. 'Well, from what I can see, our chances are better with it around.' Said Raven. As Raven looked on, Drake struck the cat with another beam of energy, and then brought down the keyblade exactly where he had struck. Raven saw the blue veins that ran along the cat shatter, and then the blade sank in. The ShadowCat let out a chilling howl of pain. The titans turned toward the roar. Cyborg and Beast Boy managed to get to their feet and then held their hands to their ears to block out the terrible screech. Beast Boy's ears were more sensitive than Cyborg's however, and he fell to the ground again and screamed in pain. Drake never ceased though. He slashed at the cat again and again. Each time the cat staggered back some more. Suddenly, after Drake struck it another time, the cat's body seemed to melt to the ground. However, something remained. A shadowy ball hung in the air. Fire seemed to blaze within it. Drake dashed for the ball, but sidestepped as black spines erupted from the floor. Somehow the creature was still alive, and judging by how quickly the spines shot up, it didn't want Drake anywhere near that ball. "Cyborg!" Drake called, "Help me out here! Use that sword of yours again!" "Say wha…" Cyborg began. "Just do it! That is its core!" Drake yelled. As Cyborg ran forward, the creature had to divert its attention, and now Cyborg and Drake found it easy to maneuver past the spines. They both reached the core and began slashing away at it. Shrieks filled the air as they continuously assaulted the core. Suddenly, what felt like an invisible wave pushed each of them back, and the cat reformed. There was a difference though. The veins had returned, but now they were blood red. "WATCH OUT!" Drake screamed, "Don't let it touch you!" As the cat leapt toward him and morphed into what could only be a huge, demonic mouth, Cyborg quickly jumped aside. As the cat sailed past Cyborg, it splashed into the ground as a dark pool and raced towards Beast Boy and Raven. Raven threw her hand out, and dark spikes shot toward the creature. The creature manipulated its now liquid body, easily dodged the spikes and kept coming. Raven turned towards Beast Boy. He was still too groggy. There was no way he would be able to dodge that creature. Raven summoned up her powers and pushed Beast Boy out of the way. As she turned back, Raven saw that the pool was just six feet away. The creature reformed into its demonic mouth and launched toward Raven. Just before it reached her, Raven felt a weight slam into her side and felt her feet leave the ground. Starfire flew forward and grabbed Raven in midair. Raven turned her head and saw Drake caught in the demonic jaws meant for her. As she watched, the creature slammed Drake into the ground with such force that the entire tower shook. It then whipped Drake around and slammed him into the ground again. Now it lifted Drake and held him aloft. As the titans watched, the red veins quickly turned bright yellow. Then explosions raced up the cat's body, and it erupted into a pillar of fire. As she saw the fire blaze, Raven heard a shriek behind her. She turned and saw Spirit fall to the ground and clutch at her chest. 'Mother!' Raven heard Sister Shadow cry. As Sister Shadow raced to her mother, Raven turned back toward the blaze, her eyes desperately straining to see through. When the flames subsided, Drake lay crumpled and scorched. "DRAAAAKE!"

Seru was beside himself with anticipation. He could shatter the whole prophecy with a single blow. He just had to do the same to that frail, little, statue. But then again, he had gotten his hands dirty enough for one day. He would leave that job in the hands of one he knew desired it. 'There was that one man who seemed to be itching to break that thi…' Seru suddenly staggered as he felt a sharp pain stab in his chest. 'What the hell?' he thought. He pressed his hand to his chest, and using his psychic powers, willed the pain away. 'What was that?' he pondered, 'That has only happened to me once before…but what is it?' Seru put the matter aside and continued on. He still had to tell his father about the crack in the prophecy. However, Seru felt a pain in his head. It had hurt when that girl broke his hold on Drake. Now he found his thoughts drifting to Raven, 'For the daughter of that hothead Trigon she sure is cute! That pale skin…those violet eyes…yeah…Whoa! Seru! C'mon man, damn! You keep your mind on the job!' Seru pushed his thoughts out of his head as he arrived in his father's dimension. "Oh Daaaad?" He called. "Seru." Came Chernabog's voice, "I trust your trip went well." "More so than I first thought. I had Drake until those blasted dragons stepped in, but I did find something interesting." Seru said with a grin. "Oh? What would that be?" Chernabog asked amusedly. "I found out that one of the potential Chosen has been within our power to destroy all along. Apparently, a girl named Terra; gifted with earth powers, is currently a helpless statue." "Of course! 'The wind shall erode her surface.' They were speaking literally! Well done Seru!" Chernabog said gleefully, "Just one little problem…" and now Chernabog's enormous face was inches from Seru's as he continued in a deadly low voice, "What if her friends find her first?"Seru wasn't even fazed. "My Cats will see that they never reach her in time." He said calmly. "Ahh. Very well." Said Chernabog. "By the way father, I believe there is one person who has wanted to destroy that statue for a while now." Seru said, "He was once a servant of Trigon, until that misguided demon backed out on his word." "Ah yes!" said Chernabog, "Trigon always had that problem. As chaotically evil as we are, even us demons have our code of ethics…drastically few in number as they may be." He chuckled. "He couldn't even follow a single one of them, and look where it got him, stabbed in the back. I'm beginning to regret saving his pathetic ass, but enough about that." He said, "The old servant, he got his body back, but perhaps he may be interested in more." Chernabog clapped his massive hands, and instantly a figure appeared before them. The figure was slightly startled, yet Chernabog sent his mind into the man's and began his offer. As he imparted powers, gifts, and a request for help on his conquest along with a promise of self-exacted revenge at its completion into the figure's mind, Chernabog picked up some thoughts from his son. 'Well now…this is interesting.' Meanwhile, the figure himself was hesitant, yet at the mention of whom he would exact his revenge on, he agreed. As he left, Chernabog lowered his mouth to Seru's ear. "I'll keep Trigon from interfering, but you still have to do the real work yourself." He whispered. "Aww Daaad!" Seru whined. Chernabog's bellowing laughter echoed throughout the entire dimension.

'No. No! This can't be happening! He was only trying to protect me! Drake you idiot! You didn't have to do that!' These thoughts raced through Raven's head as she rushed to where Drake lay crumpled. Looking back, she saw that Spirit was managing to get up. That gave her hope. She reached Drake and, without time to lose immediately attempted to heal him. 'Come on! Come on! If you die, the entire prophecy dies with you, and Chernabog and Trigon will destroy this, and every other world! You ca…' Her thoughts were cut off by a snarl of rage behind her. The other two cats, seeing that their fellow had been destroyed, leapt forward to exact retribution on its destroyer. They stopped short as the other titans got between them. "YO!" yelled Cyborg, "What about me? I'm just as much a part of the reason your bud is gone! Your beef is with me!" The cats turned as one to face him, and in the back of his mind Cyborg had a feeling he was going to regret bringing attention to himself. The cats began dashing twice as fast as they had before. As one cat leapt toward Cyborg, a white ball of energy slammed into it and sent it hurtling across the room. Cyborg turned and saw Starfire once again in her white armor. "Thanks Star! I owe ya!" Cyborg grinned. "Cyborg! Watch out!" Starfire yelled. Cyborg turned to see the other cat almost at his throat. Just before the jaws reached him, Cyborg saw Glimmer hurl with supernatural speed into the cat. Glimmer rolled around with the Heartless, and the two of them clawed and bit savagely at each other. As they raged, the cat hooked its hind foot under Glimmer's ribs and launched a solid kick. Glimmer made a mixture of a cough and a roar and turned a more ghostly white before he was flung into a wall and fell to the ground, where he tried very unsuccessfully to breathe. As the cat stepped to where Glimmer lay, it began to be pelted by blue, red, and black fireballs. As the three dragon siblings continued their assault, the cat hissed in anger but gave ground. Seeing this, Glimmer added his own fire as well. The cat shied away, but managed to jump out of the line of fire. Now it turned and oriented on Robin. As he watched, the cat sat down on its haunches and the front of its face began to push forward, almost like a…Whoa! Robin instantly figured out the danger for what it was and leapt straight into the air…and watched as a long, dark spike speared right under him. As he dropped, Robin positioned himself to land directly on the thin spike. As landed and balanced, he felt the creature spasm beneath his feet. The cat seemed to be frozen, unable to move. 'Robin!' a voice shot through his head, 'It is completely defenseless! Hit it with everything you got!' Robin recognized the voice. "Drake?" he called. Raven had also heard the voice and turned back toward Drake to see him still unconscious, but twitching. 'Robin!' Drake's voice came again, 'Do it now, before it pulls back!' Robin snapped out of it and extended his Bo staff. He drew back his hand, and then whipped it forward. The staff shot straight into the cat, right through its protective veins, and pinned it to the ground. The cat screeched and began to turn red as well. Robin dropped to the ground and threw his cape protectively over him as the cat's head retracted and it struggled to free itself and attack. As its glow began to turn orange, a black sphere surrounded the cat. The cat's explosive demise slammed into the barrier, but did not penetrate it. As its fire died, Raven lowered her hand, and the dark sphere vanished. She turned back to continue healing Drake just in time to see the last cat two feet away and in the air. She flew back when it slammed into her, and fell to the ground unable to rise. She watched as the cat turned, and extended a paw toward Drake. "Drake!" Raven called out.

And just like that, time itself seemed to freeze. A dark chill raced through all the titans, freezing the air in their very lungs. All was silent, and then, a pulsing thump filled the air. It was like the beating of a dark, enormous heart. Then Raven gasped as Drake's hand suddenly whipped forward and seized the cat's paw in midair. The cat screeched in surprise as the arm swung forward and it was flung away. Drake rose, extended his arm, and the Keyblade again appeared in his hand. And now, as she lay helpless, Raven saw the Keyblade grow black and twisted. "No…" Raven heard Spirit's voice behind her. "Not again…" Raven saw Drake step towards the cat. The cat rose and hissed in fury. Drake answered with a truly inhuman growl that caused the titans to shudder. Drake threw his Keyblade at the cat. As it struck, the blue veins on the cat vanished entirely. The blade then ricocheted into the wall behind the cat and stuck there. Raven saw sickly black veins begin growing around where the blade had struck. Now she looked back toward Drake, and a large lump stuck in her throat as she saw him begin to change. The loud beating quickened as dark fur began to grow out of Drake's skin, and two large batwings burst from his shoulders. Long claws grew from his hands, and as he opened his mouth to release a terrifying roar, Raven saw large white fangs. Drake leapt at the cat and slammed into it. The force of the attack carried them into the wall and straight through it with a crash. Now the Titans heard the fighting rising above them outside. Then they saw the cat crash through one of the fourth story windows that hadn't already been shattered and slam right through the opposite wall. Then Drake flew into view and followed the cat, creating an even larger hole in the wall the cat had crashed through. The titans felt the Tower shake as the two beasts fought. Supports seemed to bend and it looked as if the whole tower would collapse. Then the titans heard a shriek of pain. "Drake!" Raven called. Suddenly Drake sailed down one of the stairwells. Raven saw two painful looking holes in his arm. The cat must have bit him badly. Then she saw the cat bound down the stairs and launch itself toward Drake. Drake leapt to his feet and caught the cat by the throat with his good arm. The cat's face contorted in pain, and then Drake whipped his arm down and slammed the cat face first into the ground with such force that the cat exploded. It wasn't in its usual fiery explosion. The cat's very essence seemed to sunder, wrenched horribly apart as its entire body ruptured in a torrent of dark blood. Drake roared again, and the blood was set ablaze in an inferno of black fire. It flared up quickly, and just as quickly blinked out of existence. The Titans could barely believe what they had seen, but it wasn't over yet. Now Drake turned towards them, and to say that the look in his eyes would shake a planet from its orbit would give great discredit to the fear they instilled. The Titans could see plainly that he wasn't acknowledging friend or foe, but as he sprang at those he had just saved, he was seized from behind and slammed into the ground. Spirit had grabbed him and had him locked in an iron grip. Drake howled and thrashed, slamming him and Spirit all around the tower. Spirit roared in pain as Drake slammed them back through a wall, but this only caused her to tighten her grip. Even through the shaking racket their struggle was causing, Raven could hear in her mind a frantic stream of pleas racing from Spirit loud and clear. 'Drake! Please stop this! Don't let your anger blaze out of control or you may never come back! It wasn't your fault! There was nothing you could have done!' Spirit screamed, 'Wasn't his fault?' thought Raven, 'What is this about?' Then she saw Drake's eyes, or rather the tears that formed at them. Drake struggled with halfhearted vigor, and then he let out a shrill scream of sorrowful pain. It was a scream Raven knew far too well. It was the same scream her very soul had made when she lost her mother to Trigon. As she watched, the creature seemed to evaporate, and Drake sank unconscious into Spirit's arms.

Brother Wind paced back and forth outside the cave, his tension rising. 'I can sense them.' He thought, 'They're out there…somewhere. Come on you shadow spawn. I'm ready for you!' 'Are you now?' came a deep voice in his head. 'What the…who are you?' Brother Wind called. 'Well now…that would be telling.' Answered the voice. Now a figure came into view. Brother Wind had never seen this man before. He was tall, with a solid build. He wore a suit that was black with part of the chest and half of the mask he wore a fiery red, and a silver belt across the waist. Most notable however was the fact that the mask allowed only one eye to be seen, and it was eye that held the look of one who delighted in the pain of others. He was imposing, and Brother Wind felt his hackles rise as a chill ran down his spine. "If you would please stand aside…" The figure spoke, "…I have a personal grudge that I would like to lay to rest." 'Go to hell!' Brother Wind growled. "Seen it. It's actually quite nice." The figure answered, and now his voice took on a harsher edge. "But I don't plan on making a second visit anytime soon!" He stepped forward, and Brother Wind stepped back. "Now stand aside. I will destroy that worthless girl!" 'Like hell you will!' and now Brother Wind roared and a ferocious gale blasted dust and rocks into the man. When the dust settled the man had staggered to the ground. Inwardly, Brother Wind smiled, but the figure quickly rose, and in that one eye of his was a look of such malice that Brother Wind's blood froze in his veins. "You're going to wish you hadn't done that!" the man said, and his voice intensified the gripping menace inspired by his terrible eye. 'Sis!' Brother Wind screamed out in his mind. 'Seal the entrance!' Instantly a wall of rock rose and blocked of the entrance of the cave with a great slam. "So now you've had your sibling doom herself to asphyxiation?" the man asked. 'Our kind needs very little air to breathe.' Said Brother Wind. 'And…' he said with a growl, 'I'm willing to bet the ones you associate with don't breathe at all!' "You're not wrong." The man answered darkly. And now suddenly creatures appeared out of thin air behind him. Made of the very shadows, they had pointed snouts, wore bluish gauntlets with shovel like claws, and had long tails that ended in wicked looking stingers (NEW Heartless Classification: Diggers). The moment he saw their gauntlets Brother Wind screamed a warning to his sister. 'Sis! Some of the creatures are trying to burrow towards you. Even if it's one by one, collapse the earth around the nearest threat you can sense. Please Sis! We have to hold out as long as we can!' As Shadows appeared to attack him, Brother Wind thought of his siblings, 'Please guys, you have to hurry!'

DOTDF: Let me know what you think Readers!

Chapter 8: The Speed of Darkness