RR76: This is it. The penultimate chapter to Ascension. The final battle between Trigon and the Teen Titans--and Carson.
Trigon, just like Pavayne, is referred to as male in this chapter. This is because Raven has taken on his form, and his conciousness, though feral, is the dominant of the two wills at the moment.
The end cometh.
The standard disclamers apply: All characters, besides the ones created by me, are owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
MOD'S Latest Flame.
All's quiet on this front. I almost miss him.
With that, let's get on with the story.
Unforunately, that little dividing bar isn't working so well, so we'll have to work without that today.
Act I
"The turkey's roasted, the potatoes are mashed, the cranberries are sauced, and the pie is be-pumpkined," Cyborg said gleefully. "Let the feasting begin!"
Raven threw a smirk in his direction. "'Be-pumkined?' For Azar's sake, Cyborg, you've been spending too much time around Beast Boy in that kitchen. Your syntax is attrocious."
"I've seen worse," Carson said casually, laying a napkin on his lap and filling a plate with mashed potatoes and gravy. "Back in '02, I took up a contract on a pair of sci-fi nerds who had come into posession of the Holy Grail. They ended up capturing me, and I was subjected to endless Monty Python quotes and assorted etc."
"I fail to see what this has to do with Beast Boy and Cyborg's inability to speak the English language properly," Starfire interrupted, tilting her head to the side in confusion. From next to her, Robin smiled and draped an arm around her shoulders.
Carson cleared his throat as Cyborg returned to the kitchen for the rest of the food. "Well, eventually I broke free, and they mentioned something about giving them a spanking, and something about oral sex...so I gutted one of them and pistol-whipped the other so hard that he kept repeating 'all your base,' 'till put him out of his misery."
From across the table, Terra sighed. "Does every story you tell have to have the word 'gutted,' in it? It's getting to be a bad habit with you."
Carson gave her a meaningful look. "Eat your supper, Terra dear. You need to keep your strength up--you're all skin and bones...well, bones anyway."
The skin on Terra's face seemed to shrivel and blacken. "Watch it," Terra snapped, "'Else I'll eat you for desert."
"Is that a promise?" Carson replied in a low voice, raising an eyebrow suggestively. Terra couldn't help but chuckle, and took some biscuts and cranberry sauce.
Cyborg arrived at the table, with Beast Boy in tow. The aforementioned changeling carried a plate of blackened tofu. "Sorry guys, I think I burnt the dolphin-safe tofu."
"Quick poll," Cyborg said, taking a seat next to Carson and tearing a drumstick off from the turkey. He chomped at it, and said through a mouthful of turkey, "Anybody care?" Negative murmors sounded around the table.
"Be that way then," Beast Boy snapped, sticking his tounge out and pulling out a chair next to Raven. "More for me."
Raven smiled and pecked him on the cheek. "Sorry your tofu wasn't a success." She gave him a seducitve look and contiuned, "Maybe we can do something to cheer you up? There could be outfits involved."
"Save it," Carson moaned. "We already get kept up at night by you two; we don't need it while we're eating." He raised an arm to snatch the gravy boat, but...
"Damn," he said softly. "I'd forgotten about that." Tucking the charred stump of a right arm away, he extended his left arm for the gravy boat.
"Looks like we've got something in common?" Terra teased. A sizable portion of her burnt scalp dangled from her head, thing strands of blonde hair still attatched. She removed the barrete from her hair--what was left of it--and examined it. "This thing's nothing but trouble," she sniffed, and tossed it away.
"Guys!" Robin called out. "Are we ever going to bury her?" He motioned to Starfire's body, slumped backward in her chair, a gaping hole in her midriff dribbling fluids.
"We might want to soon," Beast Boy interjected. "She's getting her innards in the potatoes."
Cyborg stared at Carson's stump of a right arm. "You want me to fix up a new one for you?"
"No thanks." Carson turned his head and fixed a pair of black eyes on Cyborg. "Don't need an arm when you've got an army."
The fibers holding Terra's scalp onto her skull snapped and they fell into the gravy boat. "He always said I had beautiful hair," she murmured, staring at her gravy-soaked scalp in wonder. "He said that she had it too."
Raven stared down at her plate and felt her stomach lurch. "I'm suddenly not feeling so hungry, guys."
"Duh," Beast Boy scoffed. "I told you not to fill up on children before dinner."
"What are you..." Raven stood up from the table, stumbled, and braced herself on her chair. She looked down at her hands--her red-skinned, clawed hands. "Guys? Guys!"
"Hey, pass the yams," Carson growled in a thick, deep voice.
"Guys! I think something's--"
Terra's blackened skull rolled off her shoulders and her bones collapsed on the floor.
"Robin? Carson? Cyborg? Beast Boy?"
"False alarm guys; turns out she's alive. We're gonna have to cancel the funeral."
"Somebody!"
Carson thrust a long blade the color of fire across the table into Beast Boy's heart. "Mess with my future, will ya?"
Raven threw her head back, opened her mouth, and let loose a roar of pitch-black despair.
12:01 PM
Trigon threw his head back, opened his mouth, and let loose a roar of white-hot rage. He wasted no time, as red light sprang from his eyes at the Titans. The attack missed, though the shock from the blast sent the five heroes flying.
Carson regained his balance first, standing steady on his two feet. He looked up at Trigon--No, Raven--and grimaced. The face of the girl he had fallen in love with, replaced by a monstrosity...it was beyond what he could stand. And he remembered his plan.
Carson rushed forward. Trigon saw him and thrust a palm down to crush him. The assassin disappeared in a cloak of fire and reappeared on the back of Trigon's hand. He rushed upward, keeping his balance even as Trigon tried to shake him off, sprinted up to Trigon's shoulder, leaped into the air, and let loose a roundhouse kick into the demon's massive chin.
Trigon's head snapped back and Carson fell in freefall down Trigon's torso. He drew his knife and thrust it through the leathery demon hide, slowing his descent, and, with every ounce of strength in his right arm, propelled himself upward, drew his fist back, and landed an uppercut on Trigon's jawbone. Trigon's stumbled backward, but steadied himself on the top of an abandoned building.
Carson was once again in freefall. He enveloped himself in his usual cloak of flames and reappeared on the roof of a nearby building. He gazed out on the battle before him, and caught sight of several projectiles, blue, green, undiscernable, landing deadly blows onto Trigon. He started to sprint forward, but stopped and winced as agony shot through the right side of his body. He collapsed in pain onto his left knee, his right arm and leg limp. Hellgod strength or no, the blows he had landed on Trigon had hurt like hell.
Trigon lashed out at the Titans with his eyebeams, and Carson struggled back to his feet, ignoring the pain it caused him to do so. He took one step forward, then another, picked up speed, and ran as fast as he could, reaching the edge of the building and leaping off the top, straight at Trigon's head.
Trigon turned his attention toward him and growled.
Carson drew ever-closer to Trigon. He drew his revolver, raised it, took aim at the gemstone on the demon's forehead...
Trigon roared.
Carson squinted and began to pull the trigger.
Red light lanced outward, enveloping him in unbearable heat. The blast carried down to the pavement below, and finally erupted in a brilliant haze of red and orange light on the ground.
The four remaining heroes exchanged looks of disbelief, and Trigon, victorious, raised his head to the heavans and bellowed once more.
Act II
The grey-skinned, decaying body of Pavayne stumbled across the ruined street, muttering vaguely to himself as he went. With his plans foiled and Trigon unleashed, there was no point stay. Better to live and fight again, Pavayne thought bitterly, then to stay and gloat and die horribly.
The sound of boots crunching on gravel met Pavayen's ears. He stopped suddenly and stood still, ever so still, listening intently for signs of pursuit.
The sign came. A massive axe head hurtled toward his neck. Pavayne ducked just in time and rolled to the side, staggered back to his feet, and saw Krull Kullen, battered and bruised but alive, gripping his axe tightly. "This is your time, Old One," he intoned. "Your death will solidify my place as Lucifer's right hand."
"Do you get off on the sound of your own voice," Pavayne mocked, "Or do you honestly think you're scaring me?"
Krull Kullen roared and charged, swinging his axe in an upward motion. Pavayne easily dodged the cumbersome weapon and drove a knee into Krull Kullen's stomach. The wind left the demon general's lungs and he collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. A kick to the chin knocked him backwards again, and he lay there on his back on the asphalt.
Krull Kullen saw his axe lying, not three feet away. He reached for it in desperation, and watched with fear as Pavayne picked it up instead and held it in his hands. "What now, traitor?" Krull Kullen wheezed. "End my life. Kill me, and let the legions follow."
"As tempting as that sounds...no, I don't believe I shall." Pavayne broke the axe handle over his knee and tossed the pieces in seperate directions.
Krull Kullen blinked, uncertain. "What? Why?"
"Because," Pavayne replied, "I am not finished with you yet." Turning, he began to make his way out of town once again.
Krull Kullen struggled to sit up, wincing as pain exploded in his chest. He tried to speak, but the pain was too intense.
Pavayne noticed his struggle, and sighed. "You see, child," he began, "destiny is an interesting thing. The future is always in motion. For one brief, shining moment, I was certain that my destiny was to take the body of Trigon the Terrible and rule over Hell and Earth for eternity. But," he continued, turning to his fallen adversary, "it seems destiny itself had other plans."
"You, on the other hand, are a slave." He craned his head down at Krull Kullen, his voice thick with contempt. "Doomed forever to serve others. You are weak, Krull Kullen. And one day..." Pavayne squatted down on his haunches, taking Krull Kullen's gaze and holding it. "One day, our two destinies will interlock. I will bring this world to it's knees, and mark my words, you will be there to witness it."
Finding no breath top respond to Pavayne, Krull Kullen instead mustered what saliva he could and spat at Pavayne. The demon summoner smiled a toothy, demon smile, and gave a final kick to Krull Kullen, before turning and, once more, making his way out of the city.
Act III
The skull plate of a Tyrannosaurus Rex is harder than solid diamond. So imagine, if you will, the shock Beast Boy felt upon colliding with Trigon's leg and collapsing onto his ass with a migrane.
The Titans had tried. They had thrown everything they had at Trigon. And he still stood.
With a roar, Trigon unleashed a stream of molten energy from his mouth, bearing down on the scattered heroes. The four of them scattered and regrouped around a manhole cover. Robin jammed his broken staff into the manhole and pried the lid off. He jumped in, followed by Cyborg and Starfire, and finally Beast Boy, who gave a last, mournful look at Trigon--at what once was Raven.
And so panting and gasping for breath, the four remaining Teen Titans stood in their shelter and awaited the end.
"I do not understand," Starfire breathed, collapsed on her rear and gasping for breath. "When last we...faced the Trigon, we held our own. What makes...what makes this one...?"
"Because that's not Trigon," Robin answered quietly, leaning on the far wall with his head hung. "It has his face, and his power, but it isn't him. It's more."
"It's beyond what you think," a strained voice said. The four turned their heads to see Carson, silouhetted agains the sun. He stumbled and collapsed into the manhole, groaning as he struck the ground with a thud. His appearence left the Titans in awe. Though alive, his clothes were torn to shreds--a few rags conveniently covered his crotch and upper torso, and the rest of his body was bloodied and scorched. His face hadn't taken a terrible toll, but was still bruised from being buried in rubble.
"What we were fighting up there before we wisely turned tail and started cowering in a sewer was not just Trigon. It was Raven." He struggled to his feat, favoring his left leg greatly. "That may be the literal incarnation of Trigon the Terrible, but a great deal of his power was Raven's, magnified a hundred fold. Combine that with Trigon's powers, and..." He let his arms fall limply at his side. "Hell's a-bustin' out all over."
"So how do we stop it?" Cyborg asked, stepping forward. "We did this before; don't go tellin' us that this time around he's omnipotent."
Carson pursed his lips, fraught with uncertainty, before turning to Robin. "The gemstone. On his forehead. Raven had it, and he has it too. It's where his power, and Raven's power, is contained. Shatter it, and we might win this."
"What happens then?" Beast Boy pressed. "What happens to Trigon? What happens to Raven?"
"I..." Carson lowered his head. "I don't know. Anything, I suppose. It could reverse the process entirely, and bring Raven back, albeit at greatly reduced power. It could simply destroy Trigon and Raven. Or it could destroy the entire city, and take us with it. Or..." He hesitated briefly, then finished. "Or it'll consume this world."
"So in other words," Cyborg grunted, "you don't know shit."
"Basically. But it's all we have to go on." He raised his head and looked at Robin. "It's a crapshoot. If we succeed, praise the Lord, we done good. If it fails, the world ends. And if we do nothing, the world ends anyway." His gaze grew more intense, and despite his battered apperence, he seemed still to be a commanding presence. "Your call...Dick."
Robin shot Carson a look of disgust, and turned back to his team. Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "We fight. One last run, him or us. Just like last time." He looked back at Carson. "Can you pull it off?"
Carson laughed, then groaned from the pain it caused him. "Tried it already, Didn't work out so well. If anybody's gonna pull this off, it's gonna have to be you. It kills me to say it, but...you're the only one who can right now."
Robin stood for a moment, mulling the options in his head. Cyborg could take a shot at it, couldn't he?
Or Starfire, she could just fly up and--no, not Starfire. He'd kill her in a heartbeat.
Beast Boy? Fuck that.
Robin drew a pair of birdarangs from his belt and combined them, forming a longsword. "I guess the fate of the world's in my hands."
"Heaven help us all," Carson sighed.
Finale
12:50 PM
Titanic and seemingly unapposed, Trigon the Terrible roared in triumph once more and strode towards the populated areas of the city.
A blast of sonic energy halted his progress. Trigon grunted from the shock of the blast and turned his head to the source of the attack. Below him stood the four Teen Titans and their mercenary ally.
"You're sure about this?" Cyborg asked Robin quietly. "One of us could always do it."
Robin nodded solomnly. "It's my responsibility. If anybody here's going to die, it ought to be me."
Starfire gazed at him, her eyes swimming with tears. "Robin..."
"Relax, red." Carson limped next to the leader of the Titans, clutching his knife in his left hand, his right arm hanging limply at his side. "Your boyfriend's a martyr--who knows, they may even name a sandwich after him. Or some other kind of meal--I'm pretty partial to 'Chicken Cor-robin-don Bleu."
"If you think you're being clever," Beast Boy said through gritted teeth, "you're not."
"More clever than you, smartass."
Robin smiled a thin, desperate smile. Still keeping things light after everything that had happened.
He twirled the sword in his hand and held it in front of him in a one-handed grip. And he gave, perhaps for the last time, his legendary battlecry.
"Teen Titans, GO!"
Immediately, Trigon lashed at them with his eyebeams. The Titans scattared, Robin charging forward, while Carson hung to the back, still exhausted from his earlier bout with the demon. The other three had gone in opposite directions.
Starfire took to the air, grabbing Robin in mid flight and taking him into the air. Beast Boy followed suit in pterydactl form, clutching Cyborg in his talons. The shoulders of the hulking man of metal opened and a stream of missiles soared through the air, colliding with Trigon's massive body.
The feral demon could do little but screetch in pain at the onslaught. He was powerful, true, and he did dwarf every one of his opponents, but their strength lay in their small size and numbers. Overconfident, assured of his victory, Trigon allowed their little attacks, as he swatted at the pesky orange gnat buzzing around at his head, unaware that even gnats could sting.
Starfire weaved in and out of Trigon's strikes, keeping a solid grip on Robin. Every now and then, an opening appeared in Trigon's defense, and she would make her way to it, throwing Robin straight at his destination. Each time, Trigon responded with eyebeams, or molten lava spewed form his mouth, and Starfire would have to dart in quickly and rescue Robin each and every time.
Trigon was bellowing in frustration as he swatted the air around his head wildly. Never one to be intimidated, Starfire refused to back down. Her zeal and energy kept her going, but frustration and fatigue mounted, and the squirming package in her arms was growing annoyed at the lack of progress. The other Titans' efforts, though valient, failed to distract Trigon's attention long enough for Robin to make the killing blow.
From the street, gazing up at the battle before them, Carson could only wonder at how the fuck they had pulled this off last time. The pain in the right side of his body was unbearable. Add to it the fact that he couldn't fly, had no sort of projectile attack, and was still jokingly referring to himself as Cajun Pan-Blackened Carson, and he was in a very low place right now.
Trigon was going to win, of that he had no doubt. And he was powerless to stop it.
The feeling of anger, of self-hatrid at being able to do nothing, bubbled within him. If only I had the power, he was thinking, if only I had more, more power, more--
But you do, a second voice cooed. That power was rightfully yours, and it has been reclaimed.
That power does not make me who I am! Carson yelled inwardly at the unwelcome guest.
Come now, if it isn't who you are, then who are you? The voice was cultured, well-mannered...Carson recognized it well. What do you think you were created for, Carson? You are my vessel. Without me, you had no purpose.
Carson shut his eyes tightly. That...that isn't true! I...I'm not...
Your life, as it was, is over, Carson Elam. You are a vessel once more. Embrace my power. Let me shine forth through you. Through you, I can bring about the end of Trigon. I can give you your vengence against the Titans. Together, we can slay the fool Pavayne, and return to Hell victorious. We can rule together over the legions of the Hellfire.
...I...
You really have no choice in the matter, one way or another. Surrender. You are a body, and nothing more.
Slowly, Carson's eyes opened. Hazel-green eyes took in the world again.
And in a clear voice, he gave his response.
"No."
What?
And rather than opening himself to the power, Carson opened the power to him. He delved into it, immersed himself in it, quashing the Hellgod's will under his own.
You shall not claim me for your own. You shall be mine to command, not vice-versa. Your power is MY power now.
Carson's eyes darkened, ever so slightly, but retained their natural color. I shall bend you to my will.
The pain was gone. It was replaced by hunger. A need to destroy. To kill.
To conquer.
Taken aback, Carson shook his head violently. His eyes cleared. Once again, he beheld the battle before him. The Titans were rapidly loosing ground. Within moments, it would be over.
Resist. Do not let it take hold.
He inhaled, slowly, exhaled sharply. His mind was clear. The pain was gone. The hunger faded.
He was in control.
And, testing his newfound power, he charged straight at Trigon.
The demon payed little heed to the defeated assassin. Big mistake.
Carson leaped into the air and delivered a crushing kick to Trigon's ankle. Trigon stumbled, barely remaining on his feet, turned his head to Carson, and unleashed a scorching round of eyebeams.
The beams incinerated everything in their path, yet Carson withstood the blow. Standing there, literally smoldering, clearly pained but choosing to ignore it, he filled his lungs with air and bellowed a warcry at Trigon.
"Knock him on his back!" he shouted to the Titans. "We can still win this!"
Starfire looked down at the man she cradled in her arms, at Robin. He nodded, gave her a small smile, and jerked his head upward. Starfire understood. She returned the smile, drew back her arms, and flung Robin into the air. He landed, quite safely, on the roof of an old building. His turn to watch.
And the final onslaught came. Sonic cannons on both of Cyborg's arms activated. Soft beeping could be heard from either arm. A red light on his arms flashed: "WARNING: POWER TRANSFER UNSAFE."
He smirked. Three...two...
The shock sent him flying backward several feet, as two massive blasts of sonic energy collided with Trigon's chest. He stumbled backward, regained his balance, and roared back at Cyborg, both pairs of eyes glowing red.
Then he stumbled back once more, as a flurry of green starbolts pummeled him with renewed fury. Starfire unleashed wave after wave of starbolts, hurling them like a gatling gun. Panting heavily, she drew her arms back, let the energy gather in her palms, thrust them forward, and delivered a brilliant blast of pure energy, striking Trigon in the same spot as the sonic cannons had.
Trigon staggered, then felt something pulling him backward--by the hair, no less. How humiliating.
Beast Boy, in pterydactl form, tugged Trigon backward, pulling with every ounce of strength he had. The demon was struggling to remain on his feet, barely staving off collapse.
Starfire swooped down, grabbed Carson by the arm, and flung him straight at Trigon, straight at his chest, at the same spot she and Cyborg had struck. Trigon saw him coming, ground his teeth together, opened his mouth, and, conjuring every last bit of strength he could, unleashed a final desperate attack at the young assassin.
White light, and white hot heat, enveloped him. Unbearable, hot-as-hell heat. Carson felt the shield of the Hellgod's power fading, dropping--he was going to burn.
And then he was surrounded by something he had never felt before, something warm and cool at the same time. It was a remarkable feeling.
He felt renewed strength and vigor. And he swore he saw a dainty, pale hand stretch out to take his.
And he heard the voice of his unrequited love.
"Go."
Carson passed straight through the blast, to the shock of the dumbfounded Trigon.
Robin saw, took one last deep breath, and sprinted off the roof of the building.
Carson hurtled straight at Trigon. Time seemed to slow, to nearly stop. And he twirled, backward, in midair, extended his foot, and, putting every bit of the Hellgod's strength he could muster into this one blow, let his foot collide with Trigon's chest.
Trigon roared for what must have been the eightieth time that day. And finally, he stumbled, tipped backward, and toppled onto the ground.
He opened his eyes, one last time, and beheld the sight of something clad in green and red, lost in the glare of the sun, falling straight at him.
Sword outstretched, legs bent, Robin landed on Trigon's forehead. The blade sunk into the gemstone on the demon's forehead.
Trigon let loose one final roar of defiance, as light shone from the gemstone, enveloping him and Robin.
It grew, expanded, and covered the entire city.
And there was nothing but light. Bright, white light as far as the eye could see.
Light. And nothing else.