RR76: Hey guys.

Sorry for not updating sooner--I've been busy. We moved into a new, incredibly badass house with three stories and two living rooms, I didn't have internet for a while, and I've been in the shop for a job.

There's also been a general feeling of ennui involved. For a little while I debated whether or not to leave Finally, I decided that I hated leaving things unfinished. I'll stay at least until the Carson series is over.

Also, walking kicks ass. I've been taking remarkably long, four-hour walks lately. Great excercise. Also, it bakes the skin a nice, crispy golden-brown. It's all good.

Anyway, I'm eternally sorry for taking so damn long. Here's my apology--all 8000-plus words of it.

MOD's latest flame:

Still nothing. But if he's reading this chapter, I will tell him now: Leave the girl alone. She wants nothing to do with you.

He knows who I mean.

A/N: I have decided to refer to Pavayne as "he," in this chapter, despite the fact that he is in a female body. He still has the mind and soul of a man, even if he's in a woman's body.

The Colonal: But isn't that an argument in favor of transsexualism?

RR76: ...Go run laps. Bitch.

When referring to Pavayne's body, I will say "Raven." It's Raven's body, even if he's in control. When referring to the person, I will say "Pavayne." Are we clear?

Good.

9:45 AM

The being known as Cassius Pavayne surveyed his new form, looking up and down the body of the girl he had posessed. Through Raven's mouth, he spoke: "I like it. I really do. It is female, but that is irrelevent. It has a certain grace to it." With a casual grin, he added, "Plus, I've always wondered what it's like to have boobs."

The gargantuan axe of Krull Kullen whipped past Pavayne's head, narrowly missing. "You are a transvestite," the deposed general snarled at his quarry.

Pavayne's grin grew into an almost friendly smile. "Krull Kullen!" he proclaimed, as if greeting an old aquaintence. "It has been too long. The years have certainly not done you well." Remembering the axe that had come at him, he changed the subject. "I take it you are here to kill me?" Krull Kullen gave no answer, and so Pavayne took his silence as a yes. "By all means, try."

He charged Pavayne, swinging a fist at the Old One's head. Pavayne dodged, then ducked under the second punch, and continued to weave in and out, avoiding Krull Kullen's blows with an almost whimsical air about him. Eventually, Pavayne grew bored, and with an almost casual wave of his hand, he sent Krull Kullen toppling backward, where he lay unconcious on the decrepit pavement.

Pavayne then turned his attention to the Titans, and he could not help but chuckle at the shellshocked faces of his enemies. "Oh, don't be surprised. You all knew Raven had a bad side. One way or another, it was bound to get out--I just happened to have my finger on the button when it did."

"You're wrong!"

The cry came from the vertically-challenged shapeshifter in the Titan's ranks. Five pairs of eyes turned to look at him, wide with surprise.

"You aren't Raven," he growled. "Raven isn't some evil maniac bent on destroying the world. Raven isn't like that. You're just a shallow, scared man wearing her face because you're weak, you're pathetic, and you couldn't take what you wanted without violating a sixteen year old girl and using her to murder her friends!"

Pavayne, though greatly surprised at the outburst, managed to hide it well behind a thick veil of sacrasm. "My good man, it seems you managed to grow a pair sometime this past month. Sadly, your newfound testicular fortitude shall do you little good." He began to levitate, higher and higher into the air and, through a magnified, booming version of Raven's voice, he spoke. "I do hope you like this speech--I've had eternity to work on it."

"To all who may oppose me: Congratulations, you have fought vailently. You have taken what I have thrown at you these past weeks, and have come out stronger for the experience. But it ends now. Tremble and despair, for the hour of doom has come to your world."

"This site shall be hallowed--all who come here shall look upon the broken corpses of my enemies and know that there are none who can truly compare with the might and the fury of the Old One. Let this battle come to an end."

The body of Raven glowed with a blood-red light. "Arashmahar, indu-a-fallatora. Insecte qide'k'nor du cordre sul!"

Glaring down at the four teenaged superheroes, he uttered the final lines of the incantation. "To my will I bend thee, oh blackest spirits of the Beast. Take form now, and bring swift wrath to those who would oppose thee!"

Red mist materialized around Pavayne. The mist descended, and congeled, into a shapeless mass of flesh. It twisted and shook, protruding outward at random angles, until it finally took on a humanoid shape.

Four beasts, each one seven feet tall, knotted with muscle and completely bare, finally came into existence. Their mouths, lined with razor sharp teeth, twisted into cruel grimaces, as each one savored their newfound life and set their gaze upon their new enemies.

Cyborg voiced their collective opinions: "Holy shit on a stick..."

A cocoon of black energy surrounded and encased the Pavayne. Even as he faded from view behind his ebony fortress, one final sentence echoed across the deserted streets.

They don't call me a demon summoner because I'm a master of the Wok...

...Though it would be nice if they recognized that too.


A sharp blow to the stomach sent Carson to his knees, where Terra delivered a sharp kick to his chin, snapping his head backward. A second blow came to his throat, and Carson, coughing for breath, toppled to his side, clutching his stomach in pain.

He recovered just in time to see the foot of his opponent come down on his face. He caught it with both hands, and, wheezing through the pain, pushed hard, sending Terra backward. Carson struggled to his feet, drawing his trophy knife as he went.

"Hate to say it cutie," he gasped, "but I think you're actually stronger than the real deal. I don't recall Terra ever kicking my ass this easily."

Terra, completely silent, swung her leg at Carson's ribcage. The adolescent Hellgod-incarnate caught her by the knee and lashed out with his left arm, catching Terra across the jaw. As he pulled his arm back, he turned the knife around so the edge faced the opposite direction, and jerked it at Terra's throat. She pulled her head back just in time, jerked her leg free, and sent a pillar of rock crashing into Carson, sending him flying across the rocky battlefield.

Carson dug his knife into the rock before he could topple into the abiss, and swung himself upward onto the walkway, tweaking one of his muscles as he went. He winced in pain for a second, before noticing his discarded shotgun lying a few feet away. Terra had stripped him of the weapon early in the fight, forcing him to use nothing but fist and foot against the incarnation of his former nemesis.

As he rushed to claim his weapon, Terra appeared, supported by a floating hunk of Earth, and kicked the weapon off the platform. Carson gave a yelp of surprise and dove, grabbing it before it could fall. He swung it forward, not taking the time to aim, and fired a round off, hitting Terra's rocky pearch, upsetting it and sending the girl falling to the ground.

Carson stepped forward, kicking Terra in the stomach. She rolled over and struggled back to her feet, only to be smashed in the chin by the butt of Carson's shotgun. He struck her again on the side of her head, before raising it back up, point-blank at Terra's ribcage, and firing.

Terra grabbed the barrel as the weapon discharged, thrust it forward into Carson's stomach, and then wrested it from his hands, swinging it like a club and striking Carson across the jaw with the back end. Terra lifted it high into the air, leaving a gaping hole for Carson to take advantage of. He kicked her in the stomach, and she fell backward, dropping the weapon as she went.

Carson ran forward, grabbed the shotgun, and leapt onto Terra, planting his foot on her solar plexis and pressing down--hard. He raised the weapon to her face, cocked, and fired.

Sparks and a bit of smoke trailed form the business end of the gun. "That never fails to happen," Carson moaned.

Terra took advantage of this lapse in creative writing and smacked the shotgun out of Carson's hands. Before he could reach for it, a small boulder was raised, hovered over the shotgun, and dropped, crushing the firearm.

Carson gaped, but before he could make a wisecrack, Terra caught him in the jaw with a two-fisted blow, (heh, two-fisted blow) and attacked with a flurry of martial arts techniques, punches, kicks, chops, anything and everything she could throw at him, including bits of scenery. As Carson dodged the blows and rocky goodness that was hurled at him, he noticed the platform they were on beginning to rise into the air. After a bit of pondering, he realized: Terra was levatating the battleground.

Well, goddamn. Deja-fucking-vu.

Carson fought on, deflecting strike after blow after punch after rock, dodging, occasionally throwing a meaningless punch at the geomancer. Terra fought ferociously, quickly, not tiring once. But as she gained the upper hand, she began to grow complacent, almost lazy, in her attacks, and Carson took full advantage of this. He scanned her technique, searching for an opening, and--

There. Terra dropped her left shoulder every time she kicked with her right leg. It was almost nothing, but still, with that knowlege...Disguising his smug look, he deflected another punch, an elbow, a punch, until--

The shoulder dropped. It was small, barely noticable, but it was there, and Carson ducked under the kick that followed, drew his fist backward, and with every ounce of strength he could muster, drove it into Terra's stomach.

Terra clutched at herself, reeling from the tremendous blow. She took one, two, three steps backward, and fell on her rear, staring up at Carson as he strode toward her.

Suddenly, Terra did something she hadn't done for the duration of the battle.

She cracked a smile.

It grew, and as the smile grew, so too did a hairline fracture running down the center of the platform. It widened, and finally split in two, with Terra on one end and Carson on the other. It dawned on him what Terra was doing: She was using the very same maneuver she had used in their previous bout.

The platform with Terra gained altitude as the platform with Carson dipped downward and fell into the void beneath him. The typical fire appeared around Carson, and he disappeared as the platform imploded, dust shrouding the flames that had surrounded him.

He rematerialized behind Terra, drew his right arm back, and brought it down on her heart.

Terra spun around, grabbed Carson's wrist, twisted it so it faced his stomach, and impaled him on his own knife.

Except there was no knife.

Suddenly, white hot pain shot through Terra's body, followed by the feeling of something dislodging itself from her back. Carson pushed her away, and held the bloodied knife in his left hand, holding it over Terra's face.

"Just how big an idiot," he intoned, "do you really think I am?"

Terra gaped at the blade, and finally, shockingly, smiled. "Well played," she said, her first words since the battle had begun. "It was...nice...to see you again."

Carson returned the smiled. "Likewise."

Terra's smile faded, and her head fell back on the plaform. Her body began to melt into the rock, until there was nothing but a red stain on the surface of the platform.

The aforementioned platform fell at an alarming rate, no longer suspended by Terra's powers. Carson sprinted forward and leapt off the rockface, onto the walkway on which the fight had begun. He walked towards the bouldar that had crushed his shotgun and heaved it upward, tossing it over the lip of the walkway, and grimaced at the remnants of the weapon. "I'd just gotten it NRA-certified, too..."

Before he could grieve for too long, Carson sensed something coming up behind him. He dove forward just in time to avoid being biscected by a massive blade. Turning around, he saw a rocky figure, four-limbed, two of which held broadswords. It's face held two pairs of glowing red eyes, and it grinned at him with a long, black seperation that passed for a mouth.

Behind him, Carson heard the unmistakable sound of a Big-Ass MoFo'n Beastie's Big-Ass MoFo'n feet. He turned to see the massive, sixty-foot tall visage of Trigon the Terrible, all four yellow-glowing eyes staring daggars at him.

"Rage shall consume you!" it roared.

The smug look that Carson had made oh-so famous once again graced his features. "Of course it will."

And he threw himself into battle once again.

9:58 AM

The blue light of Cyborg's sonic cannon drove the demon backward, into a darkened alley not far from the ruins of the old library. Behind him, a green Tyrannosaur smashed another two into the same alley with it's tail. Overhead, a fourth demon fell, dropped from thirty feet up, atop his bretheren.

Leaping upward, Robin hurled every freeze-disk he had at the lips of the alley, forming a wall of solid ice that encased the demons inside.

"This is gettin' ri-God-damned-diculous," Cyborg groaned. "We need a new plan, 'cuz that ice won't hold forever."

"There is." All eyes turned to Beast Boy. The shapeshifter cleared his throat, uncertain, and voiced his idea. "About two weeks ago, Raven came to me with an idea for a plan-B."

"There's a plan-B?" Cyborg yelled. "Why the hell have we been gettin' bitch-slapped up and down the street when there's a PLAN B?"

"Plan-9, actually," Beast Boy corrected. "The name was Raven's idea. I can't imagine where she got it though..."

"This plan-9," Starfire inquired, "What does it entail?"

Beast Boy cleared his throat again. "Well, um, basically, I go back to the tower, into her mirror, and, um...rescue...her."

His teammates looked speechless. "Do you have any idea how supremely retarded that sounds?" Cyborg demanded. "This isn't some crappy fanfic written by a depressed teenager, this is real life!"

The wall of ice cracked, and the roars of the demons behind it could be heard through it's frozen exterior.

"As retarded as it sounds, it's all we've got to go on," Robin cut in. "Even if we beat these demons, we'll have to take on Pavayne sooner or later, and I refuse to end today by killing one of my friends."

"Robin is right," Starfire said. Her gaze fell on the black cocoon that encased Pavayne. "Beneath the unappealing clorbag that we are facing is Raven. We cannot kill Pavayne without killing our friend."

Robin turned to Beast Boy. "Can you pull this off?"

Beast Boy nodded. "What about you guys? You're gonna be short one man."

"That, child, is where you are wrong." From behind them, the hulking form of Krull Kullen appeared, gripping his beloved weapon with barely-contained rage. "I will bring these mindless creatures to their knees. I shall make them my chalice and drink from the burning wine of their blood."

"...Nice to have you with us," Robin deadpanned, still processing the little speech. Turning back to Beast Boy, he continued. "Get in, get out. Bring her back."

"I will." Beast Boy looked up at his friends. The people he loved. "I promise."

Their moment was destroyed as the ice wall shattered, and the demons that Pavayne had summoned rushed out to meet the Titans.

"Go!" Robin shouted, and Beast Boy was gone. He drew his bo-staff. "Titans, go!"


After what seemed like hours--though it was really a matter of minutes--Beast Boy had arrived at the tower, rushed upstairs to Raven's room, broken down the door with one swing of a meaty Gorilla fist, and rushed inside, tearing apart the room looking for Raven's mirror.

He found it on her nightstand next to her bed. Raising it to his face, he looked into his reflection. Now, how did this work last time? he thought. Vaguely, he remembered something about acne...and in the back of his mind, an elderly man with a plate of American cheese...but he couldn't remember the details.

Closing his eyes, he imagined himself entering the mirror, and he pictured he rocky landscape of Raven's mind. This is stupid, he thought. I might as well be clapping my heals and saying 'There's no place like home, there's no place like--'

And he opened his eyes, and behold! he was there. "Hey, it really did work," he mused to himself.

Walking down the path before him, he looked back and forth for any sign of Raven. "Now, if I were a girl imprisoned inside her own mind, where would I--"

His foot caught on something and he tripped. D'oh.

Beast Boy looked down, and caught sight of the flattened, ruined carcas of what once may have been a rifle or shotgun of some kind. Around him, the rocky terrain was broken in several places, and several large chunks were missing--telltale signs of a battle. The most telling sign was right in front of Beast Boy--the shattered, ruined pieces of the statue that had attacked him and Cyborg when he had first entered the mirror, and oddly enough, one of it's swords was missing.

As he pondered this, the sound of huge, stomping feet eminated from behind him. Beast Boy turned and blanched at the gargantuan fascimile of Trigon the Terrible that stood before him.

"Hatred shall rule!" it called to him, and swung a massive fist at him. Beast Boy shut his eyes as tight as they would go, awaiting his imminent doom.

Except it never came. A roar of agony sounded from the monster, and Beast Boy opened his eyes to see that it's arm had been cut off, tar-like blood gushing from the wound. He blinked. "Um, double you tee eff?" he asked nobody in particular.

His confusion was cleared up quicky. A figured, clad in black, darted up and around Trigon. It landed on the demon's shoulder, raised its' sword, and plunged it into Trigon's neck, straight on into the vein. It dislodged the weapon, disappeared in a flash of light, and re-materialized in front of Beast Boy. Drawing his arm back, he let the sword soar, straight through the heart of the beast. Though normally it would have been a pinprick to such a great beast, the size of the blade and the accuracy of the throw had done enough damage. Blood poured from either side of the wound, and Trigon fell, into the void beneath them.

Speechless, Beast Boy could only stare at his rescuer in wonder. Slowly, he turned to face him, and...

A look of pure, unfiltered hatred and rage twisted Beast Boy's face almost unrecognizably.

"You..."

Carson tilted his head to one side. "Nice to see you too. So, you're the reinforce-hey!"

Before he could finish the sentence, Beast Boy had morphed to a gorilla and hurled himself at his rescuer. He threw several blows, until Carson punched him in the stomach, twice across the jaw, and gave him a palm-strike to the solar plexis. Beast Boy fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

"Take it easy," Carson chided. "I'm on your side."

"Shut up," Beast Boy gasped. "You shouldn't even be alive, you murderous son of a bitch."

Carson looked down at Beast Boy. "Listen to me. I know how you feel towards me. I know that you want to kill me in the most gruesome ways imaginable, and, quite frankly, I don't give half a hump about any of it. We have a job to do."

Beast Boy struggled back to his feet, his expression glued to his face. "How can you even be alive, after what Raven did to you?"

Carson laughed softly. "I'd bore you with the exposition, but we don't have time for that. If you're here, that means things are going pretty badly on the outside world."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "You know about this?"

"Of course," Carson said. "The plan was my idea. Well, the name and some of the finer details, really. Credit should really go to Raven."

Still wincing from the pain, Beast Boy stepped towards Carson. "You killed Terra."

Carson rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes I did. Twice. Hit me, sue me, whatever. Just be quick, we're seriously pressed for time."

"Twice? How did..." Beast Boy shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Whatever..."

Carson sighed. "Look, the idea was that while you go looking to get Raven back in control of her body, I go out into the world and help your friends with whatever it is they're fighting, and buy you enough time to do whatever it is you're gonna do. Sound familiar?"

Beast Boy stared at Carson. "Why...? Why are you doing any of this?"

Carson looked away. "I have my own reasons. If Raven dies, I die, and if Pavayne Ascends, then I'll die anyway. It's in my best interest to keep her alive."

"Your 'best interests,'" Beast Boy spat. "How noble of you."

"You've been around Raven too much," Carson shot back. "Sounds to me like she's rubbing off on you. The Beast Boy I remember was an inwardly-focused, immautre, prepubescent coward."

"You're one to talk. You're the same selfish, backstabbing little man who tried to kill us," Beast Boy growled. "You don't deserve to live."

"Haven't you heard a word I've said!" Carson snapped, whirling to face Beast Boy. "We don't have time for this damn shouting match. We can yell and scream and trade blows 'till the cows come home, but ever second we waste here is another opportunity for Pavayne to rip your friends to bloody shreds."

The old Beast Boy would have dismissed this. Caught up in the righteous fury he felt toward Carson, he would have morphed into the largest, most deadly beast he could conjure, and murdered the young assassin.

The new Beast Boy, on the other hand, was not so hot-headed. Slowly, he regained control over his emotions. "You're right. What's the plan?"

Carson looked around. "You should know. You see if you can get Raven to regain control over herself. I'll take care of things topside."

"How do I know you won't just take off and leave us all to die?" Beast Boy prodded, uncertain of his new ally's credibility.

"Don't be stupid," Carson replied. "This is my fight more than it is yours. If anyone deserves to bring Pavayne down, it's me. Besides," he added, turning to face Beast Boy, "...I wouldn't do that to Raven."

The two adolescents exchanged a look of silent understanding.

The damnable racket of battle met their ears. "We're out of time," Carson breathed. "You good to go?" Beast Boy nodded, and Carson, without another word, bolted down the path to the exit of Raven's mind.

"Carson!" The Hellgod incarnate turned back to Beast Boy.

"...Thanks. For what you're doing."

"Don't get used to it," Carson called back. "You guys and I still have a score to settle." With that, he turned and ran through the portal.

Carson collapsed a moment later on the floor of Raven's room. Slowly, he got back to his feet, and walked with a slow, deliberate pace, to the window. He threw open the curtains and stared out at the bay, at the seawater shimmering from the yellowish reflection of the midmorning sun. Carson inhaled slowly, deeply. "Free," he said quietly.

The realization that he was wasting his damn time came over him, and Carson turned and strode from the room, past several rooms, not thinking twice about any of them...

...until he passed by the evidence room. He backtracked and stepped inside, gazing with wonder at the display leaning against the far wall.

The polished metal finish of his lost .45 revolver met his eyes. Almost tearing at the sight of his beloved weapon, Carson practically snatched it off the table and opened the chamber. All but one shot had been fired. Just how I left it, he thought fondly, and slid five bullets into the chamber. He gave it a twirl that would make Clint Eastwood jealous, and slid it into the long-empty holster at his hip.

Carson's eyes travelled a bit to the left, where the brass handguard of the Napoleonic-era naval cutlass he had so treasured still lay, leaning casually against the wall. Carson lifted it, nostalgia washing over him as he drew the blade a few inches out of it's sheath. Smiling, he slid it under his belt, turned, and ran as fast as he could, as hard as he could out of Titans'
Tower.

10:32 AM


Robin grunted as his jaw connected with the ground. Struggling to his feet, he raised his head just in time to see the gray, meaty fist of his demon opponent connect with his face. Robin staggered backward, and, temporarily blinded, drew a birdarang and flailed it wildy in front of him.

Impossibly thick arms grabbed him from behind and lifted him a few feet into the air. The arms tightened their grip around him. Robin gasped, gritting his teeth and trying--and nearly failing--not to give the demon the satisfaction of a scream.

The pressure stopped, suddenly, and the arms went limp and fell, releasing Robin from their iron grip. Robin collapsed to his hands and knees, panting, sweat and blood mingling on his face and dripping down his nose.

"Don't get me wrong," an annoyingly familiar voice chuckled, "it's not that I don't appreciate what I'm seeing, but goddamn Robin! You've lost your mojo, that's what it is."

Robin whirled his head around so hard he must've gotten whiplash. His bruised, purple jaw dropped. "No..."

Carson's smug grin only grew at this. "Don't void your bladder just yet. For once, I'm not here to kill you." He strode forward, stepping over Robin's collapsed body, toward the black chrysalis in the sky. "Cassius!" he shouted. "I'm here! Why don't we settle this, the two of us?"

The black walls of Pavayne's chrysalis fell away, and the slim form of Raven floated down, until she once again stood on dry asphalt. Somewhere inside the chrysalis, Raven's clothing had changed--Pavayne no longer wore the trademark leotard and cloak. He was clad in light battle armor that covered Raven's torso down to the midriff. A skirt made of the same material covered the hips and upper thighs. The entire ensamble was a dark shade of navy blue, as a testament to Raven's usual fashion.

"Well," Pavayne said. "I see you survived the trap."

"Damn straight," Carson replied. "Nice touch, by the way, giving her Terra's personality and memories."

Pavayne smiled. "I do hope it made it that much harder to kill her."

"You know, it really didn't."

The two began to circle each other. "What now, boy?" Pavayne taunted. "Are you going to fight me? Kill me? I'd really like to see you try."

"You don't think I will?"

"I know you won't," Pavayne retorted.

"Shows what you know," Carson said, and drew his revolver. He fired two shots, hitting Pavayne square in Raven's heart both times.

Though clearly pained, Pavayne managed to smile. The wound slowly closed, and both bullets dropped from their respective holes. When it was over, only a pair of bullet-holes in Pavayne's armor remained.

"I didn't think that would work," Carson said. "Nice to know the armor isn't bulletproof though."

"So you know, then," Pavayne said. "It comes with the ritual. Until the Ascension itself, I am impervious to all outward harm."

"That doesn't mean you can't feel pain," Carson retorted. He drew the cutlass that hung at his side and assumed a fighting stance.

Pavayne donned his oft-used evil smile. A pair of swords, identical to the ones used by the statue in Raven's mind materialized in each hand. Surprisingly, Raven's arms were able to hold them both with no trouble. "So this is your grand master plan, Carson? You're going to attack me, knowing that you cannot beat me, cannot kill me, cannot possibly have any hope of defeating me on your own?"

"Basically, yeah," Carson said, brushing off Pavayne's taunts.

Pavayne tilted Raven's head. "I must say, you're putting much less effort into this than the last time you killed me."

Those were the final words exchanged, and the combatants charged.

Beast Boy had no idea what to do. He knew the plan. He knew he had to find Raven. What he didn't know was how he would.

He had forgotten just how damn confusing this place could be.

So he ran, aimlessly, down endless roads of floating rock, through the same field of multicolored flora, and running in circles through the same laberynth, for what seemed like years.

This was almost as irritating as the REAL Raven could be.

Beast Boy had been running since he and Carson had parted ways, and he was understandably tired. He paused, planning to take a few seconds to catch his breath. Alas, things never go as planned. Beast Boy fell to his knees and gasped for breath, watching with mild amusement at the growing puddle of sweat before him.

He was like that for a matter of minutes. When he had finally caught his breath, Beast Boy rose to his feet. He suddenly felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

Whirling around, expecting to find Raven, Beast Boy instead came face to face with a man he had never seen before.

"Lost your way, have you?" the man asked casually. Before Beast Boy could answer, the man's meaty, unnaturally strong fist crashed into his jaw.

11:05 AM

Carson ducked, and Pavayne's stroke sailed harmlessly over him. The second blade came bore down on him, and Carson leapt backward to avoid the blow. Pavayne charged at him and swung his blades in a scissors motion, the tips criss-crossing at Carson's throat. He jerked aside and thrust his own blade forward, piercing the skin of Raven's left breast.

The blade sank deep, spilling a few ounces of blood, before the wound closed on it's own. Pavayne laughed and swung both blades in identical arcs. Carson leapt over the strike and drove his sword forward. The blade found it's mark, sinking into Pavayne's face and coming out the back of her head. Carson withdrew the weapon and returned to his normal fighting stance, and watched with disgust as the wound reset itself, sinew and bone twisting and jerking with sickening noises, until they had reformed into Raven's normal features.

"You can't win, boy," Pavayne taunted. "You've tried this same tactic, and eight seperate times it would have worked under normal circumstances. Commendable."

"They should give me a badge," Carson quipped. He rushed forward again, knocked Pavayne's blades out of the way, and swung his sword in an upward arc, finding a sizble chink in Pavayne's armor and cutting deep into Raven's flank, sending her body to it's knees, and in the same motion, Carson brought his sword down, stabbing the back of Pavayne/Raven's neck, sending Parayven's nervous system temproarily into chaos (yes, that was intentional spelling). Carson grabbed Pavayne by the arm, and with a great heave, hurled him across the street, into a derelict building.

Behind him, a series of disks sailed over his head, striking the building and igniting in a brilliant blaze of orange and red. Several tiny blue missiles and a flurry of green starbolts followed, and the building collapsed into a pile of smoldering rubble.

"Do not celebrate," a voice said from behind Carson. "We have gained a brief reprieve, but this battle is far from over."

Carson turned, and his eyes opened wide. "Krull Kullen," he mused. "When did you get here? Scratch that--when did you start using cliched middle-ages movie lines?"

Krull Kullen glowered at him. "I have come to your aid, young hellspawn," he said, holding up the dripping head of the demon he had been fighting. "Be grateful--had you been my quarry, my axe would have hewed you a very long time ago."

"Is that right?" Carson replied with an arrogant smile. "We did this dance before, Krull. Or did you forget?"

The three remaining Titans gathered next to Carson and Krull Kullen. "Demons?" Carson asked.

"They're taken care of," Cyborg replied. "Remind me why we aren't trying to kill you?"

"Because I'M not trying to kill YOU," Carson said. "This is a two-way street."

"Don't think that this evens things out, Carson," Robin said, catching his gaze and holding it. "We still have a serious score to settle."

Before Carson could give his comeback, the rubble pile exploded outwards. From the ashes of the building rose Pavayne. His armor was cracked and broken, and the remaining bruises and scortches adorning Raven's body were still fading, but on his/Raven's face was a look of absolute, seething hatred. The twin swords rematerialized in his hands, and he levitated back to the ground. Slowly, Pavayne began to walk toward his enemies.

"All in due time, Robin," Carson deadpanned. "Let's go to work.

Beast Boy dropped to his knees as blood dribbled from a corner of his mouth. He didn't stay that way for long, as a boot to the face sent him collapsing to his side.

Over him, the man--who he had come to deduce was Pavayne--strode slowly toward him. "Nothing is stopping this," he growled. "Your Raven is gone, and your friends will soon follow, along with the rest of your world. This is MY day, and I will let none come between me and dominance!"

"Dominate THIS."

Black energy fountained out of a corner of the laberynth, smashing into Pavayne and engulfing him. It compressed into a ball, slowly, until it was a tenth it's original size...and then it was gone.

Blinking rapidly to clear his vision, Beast Boy turned his head slowly and saw Raven, clothed in all white standing a few feet away. He coughed, spat blood and grit from his mouth, and struggled back to his feet, leaning on one of the walls for support. "Raven," he breathed. "You did it."

"He'll be back," she replied. "What I destroyed was an avatar, an extention of his will. His true persona is untouchable."

"Oh, it's touchable," Beast Boy said. "I've seen you beat worse things than him."

"But...that was different," Raven replied. "Trigon had achieved physical form when I defeated him."

"So?"

"SO?" Raven yelled. "So HIS physical form just became MY physical form. I can't kill him!" She lowered her head and said, almost inaudably, "It's over."

"No, no it isn't," Beast Boy said, stumbling over to her and taking her by the shoulders, half supporting her, half supporting himself. "This is your mind, your body, not his. He can't control it forever."

"...He's doing a damn good job of it so far," Raven retorted, looking away.

"Raven--"

"Run," she said quickly, looking at him suddenly. "Run away, now. He's coming back."

"So what?" Beast Boy said dismissively. "Just squish him like you did last time."

"No," she replied. "He's coming himself."

"What are you--"

Above them, the "sky," darkened. The stars of Raven's mind faded out of existence. The girl in question collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

Little girl, an unseen voice sneered. Do you have any idea the kind of trouble you have been causing me? Yes, you and your friends Carson and Garfield, making your little schemes, trying to delay me from achieving my destiny...

"I'm sorry...I'm..."

Sorry? Bah. Raven shrieked and writhed on the ground in agony. Sorry won't cut it. THEY cannot kill your physical form...but I can kill you. The real you. I can make your soul and will and mind vanish from existence. And with you gone, I will have utter, absolute control over your power. Untapped wells that contain sheer primal energy...not even you can imagine that.

Beast Boy raised his head to the sky. "You twisted piece of sh--"

Be silent. A bolt struck Beast Boy and he collapsed to the ground. Raven shrieked and collapsed again, sobbing Beast Boy's name to herself over and over.

Don't weep, girl. Nonexistence doesn't hurt. Well, there is the seventeen seconds of terrible, horrible, mind-rending agony, but after that, nothing. Nothing at all. Darkness that you cannot see. Silence that you cannot hear.

But enough of the pre-show, Pavayne mocked. Let's skip to the end.

The walls of the laberynth crumbled. The platforms of rock imploded. All that remained was one single slab of rock, carrying the two Titans. From the jet-black sky of Raven's mind shot a white plume of fire. In the blink of an eye, Raven erected a barrier, protecting herself and Beast Boy from Pavayne's wrath.

Barely concious, Beast Boy looked up at Raven. His mind fumbled over the speech he had prepared weeks earlier, in preperation for this moment. Damn the luck, he couldn't remember any of it. Tossing the idea, Beast Boy decided to speak from the heart.

"Two years ago, you told me that I was the only person who understood you," Beast Boy began. He noticed Raven slowly shifting her gaze toward him. It's working. "So when I say that I know you can beat this guy, it isn't some fake supportive bullshit. It's the truth."

"I know what you can do, what you're capable of. I know just how strong you are. You have a will of...of...of something really hard, Raven, something that not even Pavayne can break.

It was brief, but Beast Boy could see that for a split second, the Raven he knew had returned. "Something really hard, huh?" she asked.

Through the agony wracking his entire body, Beast Boy smiled a true, genuine smile. "It's why I love you."

Multiple emotions washed over Raven's face--emotions that she had been sorely deprieved of for the last few months. After a moment, Raven returned the smile. "Thank you."

With that, her face went blank again. Her eyes glowed black, and she raised her arms over her head.

In a low voice, she uttered her incantation.

"Azerath..."

The barrier began to bulge inward.

"Metrion..."

The light from Pavayne's fire began to shine through

"Zinthos."

Her head snapped upward. "BURN IN HELL YOU SON OF A BITCH."

What remained of the barrier hurtled upward. With unimaginable force, it slammed into the darkness above the teens, and an ear-splitting roar could be heard. The sky burned red, seething with all of Pavayne's fury...and then the red was gone.

Rock platforms reformed themselves. The stars returned, and the sky regained it's dull red and black hue. Looking at her friend and confidante, Raven smiled her first real smile in ages. And out of sheer relief, she draped her arms around Beast Boy and planted a kiss on his lips.

After a moment, she broke the kiss and lay her head on his shoulders. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Beast Boy wrapped his arms around Raven and held her. "It's the least I could do."

The moment went on, probably longer than either expected it would. Faint while light began to shimmer around them, and the two floated, briefly, in the air.

I just have one question though.

Hmm?

How long has Carson been inside your mind?

...Beast Boy...

Right. Moment, don't ruin.

11:50 AM

With a cry, Pavayne surged forward. Krull Kullen threw himself forward, directly into Pavayne's path. Without even stopping, Pavayne batted him away, and continued his charge. Robin and Cyborg stepped up next to Carson, and Starfire hovered over the three of them.

Pavayne roared. A pair of blasts sent Cyborg and Robin flying in opposite directions. Green light blazed from Starfire's eyes, dealing no damage to the enraged demon summoner. Pavayne leaped into the air and struck Starfire square in the chest, knocking her to the ground.

His attention turned to Carson. The assassin raised his weapon to ward off Pavayne's attacks, but both the demon summoner's swords crashed down on him, diverging at a single point and snapping the cutlass' blade in two.

Pavayne's eyes blazed fury at Carson. "You smarmy, interloping--"

The wristguard of the cutlass smashed into Raven's jaw, the shock causing Pavayne to drop both his swords. Otherwise, the blow only served to further infuriate the already irate villian.

Pavayne grabbed Carson by the throat and slammed him to the ground. "How does it feel," Pavayne snarled. "How does it feel, having the life choked out of you, no friends, no allies, no nothing, nobody at all coming to save you. How does it feel child? How does it feel to die the way I died?" He roared with laughter, and continued. "And when it's all over, when I have my new form, when I have my power, Raven's power, and all the power of Trigon the Terrible at my disposal, why don't you tell me how it feels to be tormented and tortured the way I was for eternity?"

Carson tore futilly at Raven's wrists, trying to loosen Pavayne's grip on him, to no avail. His vision blurred, and began to darken...

And then, moments later, Pavayne let go of him and staggered backward. Carson leaped back to his feet. "Sorry Cassius," he said. "I plan to die laughing."

With that, he rushed forward and, as if driven by some unknown force, grabbed Pavayne by the neck. He pressed his forehead to Raven's, and a rush of sheer power, accumulated memory, and assorted etc. poured into him. Carson released Pavayne, who staggered backward in shock and awe.

Black energy encircled Carson. "Your power," he said, in a low voice, "is my power by right."

His speech ended there. Pavayne was screaming, clawing at his--Raven's--ears, and finally raised his head to the sky and howled as a bright light enveloped him. The light grew, and all present turned away from the sheer brightness.

And then it faded. Carson, and Robin, Cyborg and Starfire, rose to their feet and gathered around the spot where Raven, still holding her newfound love, sat.

The two slowly disengaged and returned to their feet. Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head and offered a sheepish grin. "Uh...sorry we're late?"

With that, Starfire rushed forward and flung her arms around the both of them, nearly squeezing the life out of her friends. She let go after a moment, and was followed by Robin and Cyborg.

"Hate to admit it B," Cyborg said with a grin of his own, "but you done good."

Returning the smile, Beast Boy reached up and slapped Cyborg's hand, then winced from the pain it still caused him to do...any sort of physical exertion.

Robin clapped a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder and gave a smile of approval. "Nicely done." He gave the same look, slightly warmer, to Raven.

Raven returend the smile, and then looked past the Boy Wonder, to the last of her saviors, who stood looking at her forlornly. Raven stepped past Robin, and, not caring what her friends though, pulled Carson into a tight hug.

The embrace was different than the one she shared with Beast Boy, but it conveyed her message perfectly. Carson returned the hug, squeezing his friend tightly. "Nice to have you back Rae," he whispered in her ear.

Looking on at them, slightly dumbfounded, Beast Boy couldn't help but pipe up. "What? He gets a hug and I get nothing?"

Releasing Carson from her grip, Raven turned back to Beast Boy. "You already got that, and more," she said with a smirk.

Robin picked up on the joke and mirrored Raven's smirk. "You aren't jealous, are you Beast Boy?"

"Jealous? Me?" Beast Boy offered an unconvincing shake of the head.

"C'mon Robin," Cyborg said, stepping next to Beast Boy. "I think our boy's mature enough not to get jealous when his girl hugs someone else."

"Since when am I 'his girl,'" Raven chimed in. "We both know who's wearing the pants here."

Cyborg gave her a blank look. "Thank you Raven, you just ruined a perfectly good boner joke."

Starfire piped up. "Besides, of course Beast Boy is jealous. His skin is green-pigmented with jealousy!"

After a moment of trying to figure out what the hell Starfire had just said, the other Titans snickered, and then began to give full-blown laughter. It wasn't the pun, or the odd phrasing Starfire had given it, but the ability to laugh, after all those long months, that made it worthwile.

Their laughter drowned out the sound of a far-away churchbell. Dong.

Twelve O'Clock PM.

Dong.

Cyborg wiped away a tear, then continued to laugh.

Dong.

Carson shook his head and smiled in bewilderment, then began to reload his revolver.

Dong.

Not far away, a red mist began to gather over the lifeless corpse of one of Pavayne's demons.

Dong

"Hey Robin!" Carson called. "I thought we had a score to settle?"

Dong

Robin turned around, and abruptly stopped laughing. "Can't this wait?"

"Well, I'm only saying, you talk endlessly about how 'Oh, I'm the Boy Wonder, and with my Super Destructo-Disks of Justice--'"

"'Talking endlessly?' Do you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice?"

"I'm gettin' tired of yours pretty damn quickly you tight-wearing fairy piece of--"

Something large and grey shoved Carson away, knocked Robin out of it's path, and barrelled past Cyborg and Starfire.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU HAVE A HAPPY ENDING! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"

It grabbed Raven and threw her halfway down the street, into the lot where the old library had stood mere hours earlier. The body, under Pavayne's will, leapt the impossible distance, and landed in front of Raven, holding the broken blade from Carson's cutlass.

Reaching down, Pavayne grabbed Raven and held her over a great pit. Down at the bottom, somewhere, was the massive stone hand of Trigon. With a twisted grin, further obscured from the damage done to the host body's face, Pavayne raised the blade.

"One way or another, this world will end. And if I can't rule it, I'll still see to it that you, and your friends, die horribly."

And with that, Pavayne shoved the blade into Raven's belly. Blood flowed from the wound as Raven's face twisted into a grimace of pain.

Pavayne's grip loosened, and Raven fell into the pit, passing endless layers of dirt.

"Ta."

Something grabbed him from behind, and a moment later Pavayne was lying face-down on the ground. He rolled away from several different kinds of blasts, and barely dodged three lead slugs aimed at various points on his body. He looked up and saw the Titans, plus Carson, arrayed around the pit, each with a look of rage etched onto their face.

Pavayne smiled at them. "Your efforts are hopeless..."

Below them, inside the pit, a bright red light shot upward, knocking each of the fighters backward. It continued to rise, through the clouds and beyond. The sky darkened. Black clouds gathered, and the light from the pit only grew.

Out from the light thrust a blood-red arm, then another. A pair of legs, each ending in a cloven hoof, met the ground. As the light receded, the fears of the defenders of Jump City were confirmed.

The massive, white-haired, antlered visage of Trigon the Terrible, met them. As soon as the light cleared, the beast threw back it's head and let loose an otherwordly roar of primal fury.

And with that, the realization dawned on the Titans.

Pavayne was right. It was hopeless.

RR76: And it's done. One long-ass, lengthy update, done finally.

Now, to go back to not updating regularly. Haha, I keed. Expect an update within this month. I won't take as long as I did this time to update ever again, I promise.