Hunters of Justice (RWBY/DC)
Chapter 16: Trigon, Part 1
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Sebastian Blood the Seventh sat in his private office, holding a glass of chardonnay in his hand. His office was quiet, the only sound being that of the wine swirling in the glass alongside his even breathing. He himself was the picture of calm satisfaction while the outside world descended into chaos.
It had been the work of an entire lifetime. Multiple lifetimes, in fact. His entire paternal line had been utterly devoted to achieving this aim, of allowing their God to enter their earthly plane of existence. Yet all of those who came before failed due to their utter incompetence. They stayed in the shadows, away from the public eye as they did their dark work, held back by centuries of tradition. His own father continued leading them down this path. So, Brother Blood did what his own father did: he killed his father in cold blood, took the church for himself, and set them down the path of their current success.
More screams echoed from outside, followed by gunshots and explosions. Undoubtedly from the police hastily trying to fend off his followers, whom he had subtly shipped in from around the world. All were armed with the greatest weapons from the LexCorp arsenal, and his cathedral had been turned into an impenetrable fortress. There was no conceivable way for the JPD to breach their walls.
The Titans possibly could, but to Blood's immense satisfaction, they were presently occupied. The sight of his Lord's influence spreading from their tower, despite their hastily constructed defenses, brought joy to his heart. Soon, they would fall, and the world would follow.
He heard a gentle knock on the door, and he granted his visitor entry.
"Brother Blood," an acolyte said, "everything is going to plan. However, it appears that the Justice League is mobilizing. Their Watchtower is repositioning itself over us as we speak."
Brother Blood took a sip of wine. "Are they doing anything else?"
"No. We believe they're giving the Titans more time to take back control of the situation. But if they take the field—"
"Our Lord's work will be done well before then," Blood insisted as he rose to his feet. We strode over to a large portrait of himself, gazing upon it. He admitted that it was a personal vanity, but it was one he appreciated. The craftmanship was exquisite, and the artist well compensated for their work. Its image allowed him to focus on his acolyte's words. The Justice League's mobilization was, admittedly, concerning. Although he mostly dealt with the Titans, the League was potentially a far graver threat to their plans. Should they decide to attack, he doubted his odds of victory.
"Still," Blood continued, "best not to place our hopes on the League continuing to show self-restraint. Prepare the countermeasures and jamming devices."
"That will only buy us a few minutes, at most."
"Then we will use those minutes. Go," Blood ordered. The acolyte bowed and walked out of the room to fulfill his leaders' commands. Sebastian took another drink of his wine, crossing one of his arms behind his back. He then heard a faint commotion coming from the basement, and so he calmly opened the secret passage in his office then walked down the stairs. Going past the wall where Arthur Light was previously held prisoner, he opened another door to reveal a large hollowed-out chamber with rows of heavy cages held within. He could hear the creatures roaring and rumbling from inside their confines, struggling to free themselves while unable to escape.
Around their cages was a red aura, indicative of his master's work. Combining their natural connection towards negative emotions with Trigon's dark magic was ingenious, in Blood's opinion, but more than that he felt the creatures themselves were utter perfection. They were the living embodiments of everything his church stood for. After all, mankind was sinful, and these creatures actively sought them out to destroy them. They had no need for food nor drink nor rest and were actively drawn to negative emotions.
"Magnificent," he whispered in awe as he caught a glimpse of one of their eyes.
It could never be said enough that Dick Grayson had a complication relationship with his father. Bruce Wayne was many things. He was stubborn, hard to get along with, paranoid about almost everything, and so set in his ways sometimes it was like talking to a brick wall. Yet, at the same time, the man had raised him when he lost everything. Bruce took Dick into his home, expected nothing of him, all because he knew exactly what the other had just gone through. To lose everything he held dear. Dick loved Bruce Wayne, considered him to be his father in all but blood, but that didn't mean he valued things the same way Bruce did.
For starters, there was the fact that Dick knew Bruce was paranoid enough to create contingency plans just in case his fellow superheroes went rogue. After all, he did the exact same thing for all the villains. Making them for other heroes was a logical next step. But it felt wrong to the former Boy Wonder to make them and keep them secret from everyone else, like it was a violation of their sacred trust.
Which was why, when Dick Grayson created his own upon founding the Teen Titans all those years ago, he brought everyone into the loop. They knew just how dangerous they could be if someone were to take control of them, especially Raven, and so they helped to create methods on how to stop themselves should the need arise. Cyborg created a software virus that was so far beyond his ability to counteract, or rather he refused to even try, it could shut him down at a moment's notice. Perfect for if someone, or something, took control of his mechanical body against his will. Starfire helped to design a drug cocktail that would make her extremely sad, preventing her from using her powers, as well as creating a compound based off chromium to short out her powers directly. Beast Boy, using his mother's research, helped design a universal tranquilizer that could only work on him and him alone, while M'gann helped the other Titans to create a compound that would disrupt her added Martian DNA, making her susceptible to solar radiation. All of them hoped that they would never have to be used, but each understood the necessity.
So, when Nightwing activated Raven's personally designed countermeasure, it broke his heart. From deep beneath Titans Island, unbothered by the sudden change of the bay from cold seawater to hot magma, a series of ethereal beams shot high into the air. Once they reached their zenith, more beams extended outward, connecting each of them before finally settling on a geometric pattern reminiscent of a pentagram. Then, once it was fully set, purple shields extended down and cut into the magma, shutting out any magical interference from both the outside and the inside.
The Trigon-possessed Raven looked at the shield with mild amusement, watching how the magma outside of it quickly became seawater, then laughed.
"I see my daughter prepared for this. Impressive, it managed to completely seal off my influence in this realm outside of its barriers," his voice bellowed out of Raven's mouth. With her back still turned to them, Nightwing took the chance and threw a bolo towards her. The object wrapped itself around her chest, pinning her arms to the side, but she didn't seem to be apprehensive. In fact, as she turned around to gaze upon them with her four glowing-red eyes, a wicked smirk was on her face.
"Let. Her. Go," Nightwing demanded, unrestrained fury breaking through. Behind him, he could hear the other Titans, as well as Weiss, Blake, and team JNPR aim their weapons straight at her. Even without empathic abilities, the sheer rage they were all emitting was palpable.
"Now, why would I do that?" Trigon asked as he burned away the bolo's wires, freeing Raven's arms. "After all, THIS IS WHAT SHE'S MADE FOR!"
"NO, SHE'S NOT!" Starfire suddenly shouted before firing a massive beam of UV energy straight at her. Her body brimmed and pulsed with energy, and Trigon found himself consumed in the neon beam. Cyborg quickly joined in, firing his sonic cannon at full blast while angry tears streamed down his face. Weiss created a Glyph beneath Raven's feet, trying to pin her in place, while the others fired their weapons. Jaune, the only one without a gun, kept his shield extended out in front just in case his possessed friend attempted a retaliation.
Even still, he was completely unprepared for when a dark reddish-purple slice struck his shield, sending him flying back and crashing against the wall. Soon after, a pulse of magic shot out, dissipating Weiss' Glyph, breaking apart the concentrated soundwaves, and destroying Starfire's attack. Unperturbed, Starfire shouted indignantly as she flew towards her possessed friend, pinning her to the ground where she began to pummel her.
"GET! OUT! OF! HER!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, each word punctuated by a fist. But Trigon only smiled before catching Starfire's fist with Raven's hand, then reared her legs back and kicked. Starfire felt the air escape from her lungs as she was flung back and through the ceiling. Rather than simply getting up, Trigon turned Raven's body into shadow and reformed behind the heroes.
"Die," he commanded, and shot orbs of magic into the heroes. The attacks struck, sending them sprawling to the ground and Nightwing almost over the edge. He was able to latch onto a hold, however, and as he dangled off the building he looked down to see Ruby, Yang, and M'gann attempting to rouse Beast Boy. Steeling his gaze, Nightwing hoisted himself back up, flipping his body to land on his feet and pulling out his stun batons at the same time.
"You first." Then, with a shout, Nightwing and the other Titans charged.
"Oh, gods, what is happening?!" Ruby wailed as she took sight of the literal hellscape she now found herself in, wondering just how everything went so wrong so fast.
"H'ronmeer, please do not take him from me. C'eridyall, lend me your strength," M'gann prayed to the Martian Gods of Death and Life, respectively, as she psychically attempted to heal her brother's body. Yang was performing CPR, alternating between breathing into his mouth and compressing his chest.
Above them, they could hear their friends battling against someone. Who, exactly, was unknown, but Ruby had a sinking feeling she knew who it was. The magical barriers being erected around the island, the sudden change in scenery, and the sporadic bursts of dark magic being emitted from the tower told her as such.
Trigon had won. The stress, the fear, the self-doubt, all of it worked to wear away Raven's barriers to their weakest level in years. Beast Boy getting mortally wounded was the straw that broke the camel's back. For the first time since Brainiac, Ruby didn't know what to do. How could they, a group of teenagers and young adults, hope to defeat a demon on par with a god? She hoped that the Justice League were on their way. It'd be impossible to miss what was happening right now.
"He's breathing, but he's not waking up!" Yang shouted, breaking Ruby's concentration and causing her to run over to him. True to her sister's word, Beast Boy was indeed breathing, albeit shallowly. The wound on his chest was sealed, courtesy of M'gann injecting him with yet more of her blood and psychically encouraging his body to heal faster.
"Is there anything we can do?" Ruby asked, but M'gann shook her head.
"He's slipping into a coma! I'm going to reach inside his mind, try to pull him out."
"Got it!" Yang replied as she jumped to her feet and reloaded Ember Celica. She looked up to the battle overhead, seeing an obviously possessed Raven flying around the ruins of the tower as she and Starfire engaged in a dogfight. From the inside of the tower were the rest of her friends, trying to shoot her down from relative safety.
Ruby, understanding Yang's thoughts immediately, nodded. "Go help them. I'll protect M'gann and Beast Boy."
Yang nodded back before grappling herself up to the others, soon disappearing from Ruby's sight. Ruby then placed herself protectively in front of Beast Boy and M'gann just as the Martian placed her hands gently on his head. She closed her eyes and concentrated, and when she opened them, they had gone from a deep red to a bright white that shone from within.
"M'gann, hurry," Ruby begged as she loaded Crescent Rose.
Beast Boy was floating. Normally that wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. There were many times during easy days where he'd turn himself into a marine animal and just swim out in the open water. But this wasn't floating in water. Instead, he found himself floating in an empty void.
"… Huh. Well, this can't be good," he said to himself. He tried to remember what happened to him, but everything was hazy. The most he remembered was Raven, a piercing pain, then blackness. He lightly pounded his head, trying to remember, but again he found himself coming to a blank.
"Great. The one time I need to remember something, I can't. Perfect, I can imagine Raven's response now."
"'Garfield, seriously. Stop thinking about your useless video games and focus on something important for once,'" a vaguely familiar female voice suggested.
"Yeah, that. Thanks." Beast Boy closed his eyes and nodded as the strange voice told him what he was already thinking. He then fully registered that the voice was not his own, and his eyes shot open as he swiveled his head to look next to him. Much to his surprise, resting on his shoulder was a small green monkey that was looking deep into his eyes.
"What up?" the monkey asked, and Beast Boy couldn't help but scream. Surprised, the monkey did as well and continued to do so after Beast Boy picked it up and hurled it across the void. The small animal twisted and turned as it tried to right itself while Beast Boy angled his body to face it.
"Who are you?!" he yelled, trying to turn himself into a flying animal, only to not feel anything. As he continued to try and transform, the monkey managed to right itself and face Beast Boy with a slightly annoyed look on its face.
"Okay. First, that was rude. It's rude to throw monkeys through the air."
"Well, it's rude to surprise people by showing up out of nowhere on their shoulder!" Beast Boy replied as he continued to try and transform while the monkey had a contemplative look on its face. It then nodded.
"Point taken. Second, don't bother trying to use your powers in here. They won't work, and right now you look like you're constipated."
Beast Boy glared at it and tried to transform one last time defiantly. True to the monkey's word, however, he couldn't. Sighing to himself, Beast Boy hung his head.
"Great…"
"Hey, don't feel bad about this," the monkey said as it swam its way over to the young boy. "Trust me, it happens to everybody."
"Everybody finds themselves floating in space talking to a green monkey?"
"Well, not this exact thing, but…" The monkey shook its head and raised its small hands up. "Look, we're getting off track here. There are, frankly, a lot more important things to worry about."
Beast Boy lightly glared at the monkey before sighing and nodding his head in agreement.
"Yeah, like where the heck am I?"
"Oh, that's easy. We're inside your head. Kinda empty in here," the monkey answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Beast Boy looked at it incredulously, ignoring the insult, with one of his eyebrows raised.
"Okay… Why are we in my head, then?" Beast Boy asked.
"You're in a coma."
"I'm in a WHAT?!"
"Just a small one!" the monkey clarified as if that made it better. Seeing how Beast Boy was beginning to panic, the monkey continued. "Look, you took a big, and I mean big hit just now. Shot almost through the heart by photons, followed by a ten-story fall. You're lucky you didn't die on impact."
"How come I didn't?" Beast Boy asked, still hysterical, but the monkey merely sighed.
"Haven't you figured that out, yet? Your body is a living representation of the entire animal kingdom, plus a little extra. That includes animals like lemmings, and as such your body is more resistant to those kinds of falls. They still hurt, obviously, and you do have a few broken bones, but assuming you and your friends make it out of this, they're nothing a few hours of bedrest won't fix. Let me tell you, your metabolism is insane."
Beast Boy looked at the monkey for a few more moments. He felt his fear and confusion slowly ebb away, until finally he found himself calm.
"Okay, okay…" Beast Boy muttered to himself, then looked at the monkey. "You obviously know what's going on. Can you…?"
"Certainly," the monkey replied. Internally, Beast Boy was finding it odd how used he was to this strange encounter but cut his thoughts off as the monkey continued. "Yeah, your friend, Raven? Her dad came into town, and let me tell you, he's a piece of work. Constantly angry, extremely violent, not to mention very controlling."
"Are you telling me Raven's been taken over by Trigon?!" Beast Boy felt his panic come back as the monkey nodded its head.
"Bingo!"
"How? How did this happen?"
"I think the better question is, what didn't happen? Over the past month, her mental barriers have been constantly under attack from nearly all angles. Self-doubt, anger, fear, everything and the kitchen sink. They were already weakened by the time Trigon played his final hand, and you getting shot by Doctor Light was what finally kicked them down completely. He basically waltzed right in afterwards."
"I…" Beast Boy was at a loss for words. Raven, one of his best friends, getting possessed by her evil father? That was a true nightmare scenario, one that was hard to describe with words. When he made eye contact with the monkey, however, he grew angry and lashed out. "How do you know this? Who are you, anyway?"
"Me? I'm just a representative of the group that gave you your powers," the monkey answered, its body briefly flashing red before going back to green. "Figured I should probably step in right about now. We didn't want you to die and all."
"What are you talking about? What group? M'gann's blood transfusion and Sakutia gave me my powers."
"You see, that's where you're wrong," the monkey waved its paw around, a single finger outstretched. "Sure, your explanation accounts for part of it, but it's nowhere near the full truth. Your powers extend far beyond that of normal Martian transformation. Ever hear of the law of conservation of mass?"
"Yes, I am aware that I constantly violate that," Beast Boy dryly replied.
"Good, then we're on the same page. Listen, the point is, your powers extend far beyond what you currently believe them to be. You've only just begun to tap into them, and until now, you've been limiting yourself."
"Limiting myself?" Beast Boy, now genuinely intrigued. The monkey smiled at his question and pointed its finger at him.
"Yes, finally a worthwhile question! You, Garfield, are limiting yourself. What's the smallest you've turned into yet? TheDrosophila melanogaster, correct?"
"The fruit fly, yes."
"Try going smaller, and I'm not talking about another insect. I'm talking microbes. Tardigrades, for instance. You can even split your mind and turn into a swarm of wasps. If it's part of the animal kingdom, you can turn into it. And that's just limiting yourself to Earth! If you wanted to, you could turn yourself into an animal from your new friends' home planet, and let me tell you, there were some interesting animals living on Remnant. Vacuo itself was home to some insane creatures. Mole Crabs, for instance. Same goes for Tamaran or any other alien planet with life on it."
"Whoa…"
"Yeah, whoa. Plus, if you wanted to, you could turn yourself into another human being. They'd be green, and with your voice, and without their powers, but you could."
"Really?" Beast Boy asked, and the monkey nodded. "Oh, I have plans now. Thank you."
"No prob. Anyway, we've gotten off track again. Point is, things are going to hell up there, and right now, you and the little silver-eyed girl are pretty much the only people capable of stopping this before it gets any worse."
"What?" Beast Boy asked, tilting his head. How could he and Ruby stop Trigon? They were the youngest out of everyone. They'd stand no chance at stopping Trigon on their own.
"You still don't get it, do you?" The monkey solemnly asked.
"Don't get what?" Beast Boy asked again, but the monkey merely chuckled and shook its head.
"Ah, teenagers. They're always the most interesting stage of life to look at."
"Now I'm confused again."
"You'll find out soon enough," the monkey replied cryptically. Beast Boy narrowed his eyes before a bright light shone from above.
"Garfield! Gar, it's me!" a voice shouted from the light.
"M'gann?" Beast Boy gasped as he gazed up into the light. It was warm, and he found that it somehow didn't hurt his eyes at all. The monkey smiled warmly at the sight, then began to fade away.
"Looks like my time is up. Remember, you and Ruby are the only ones who can stop this."
"How? How can we stop it?" Beast Boy asked as he began to float up towards the light.
"I'll give you a hint: you were there today."
Before Beast Boy could inquire any further, the light broke, and he suddenly found himself back in the real world. He violently coughed, feeling the sudden heat of the warm air breaking on his skin, and his breathing became ragged.
"Garfield!" M'gann shouted as she tightly embraced her brother. Beast Boy continued to cough, each one making his lungs feel as though they were on fire, and when he could finally bring himself to look around, he found himself in a literal Hell.
Titans Tower, once proud, gleaming, and majestic, was now lying in ruins. Shattered glass was strewn across the island, metal support beams jettisoning out of rubble. It was practically a skeleton at this point, and it was obvious to everyone that soon it would fall entirely. Around them, he could see his friends and comrades desperately fighting against a red-skinned and four-eyed Raven, who herself was cackling demonically as she flung the Titans around like ragdolls.
"What…what happened?" Beast Boy gasped out as he took everything in.
"Trigon. Trigon happened," Ruby answered, continuing to stand guard over her friends. M'gann moved to pick her brother up, but Beast Boy stopped her with a raised hand and slowly rose to his feet. He swayed, but M'gann was there immediately to lend her shoulder.
"Thanks…sis," Beast Boy said, feeling the adrenaline keeping him upright despite the pain, and M'gann smiled. They looked back at the fight before them, seeing how the possessed Raven was grabbing Yang and squeezing her cruelly. Yang was screaming in agony but managed to get her arm free and fire a slug into Raven's face, causing her to flinch and release the blonde huntress.
"We need to get in there!" Ruby declared as she prepared to charge into battle, only for Beast Boy to cut her off.
"No…that won't work. Trigon's too entrenched," Beast Boy proclaimed, but Ruby spun around angrily just as Weiss' latest Glyph was shattered with ease.
"I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Ruby shouted, but Beast Boy held up a hand weakly. He found that it was getting easier now, so he had that going for him at least.
"I'm not…suggesting that," he replied. "I… I think I have a way to free Raven."
At his statement, Ruby and M'gann both looked at him expectantly.
"Well?" M'gann asked, and Beast Boy found the strength to remove his weight off her.
"Inside Raven's room," he began, "there's a mirror. A small, handheld silver mirror. One that she uses for her meditation."
"What does a mirror have to do with saving Raven?" Ruby asked.
"By using it," Beast Boy continued, "she goes inside of her mind, and I know from experience that anyone can use it to go there, too. Meaning—"
"We can use it and go inside her mind," M'gann finished, her eyes wide. Seeing her brother nod at her statement, M'gann excitingly continued. "We could go inside, free her, and help her banish Trigon from her body!"
"Exactly," Beast Boy proclaimed, and Ruby nodded excitingly.
"Well, come on! Let's go!" Ruby began as she started to run towards the tower. M'gann, knowing that not only would Beast Boy be in danger staying out here in his current state but that he'd be insulted if he wasn't brought along, picked him up bridal style and flew after the Red Reaper. They traveled through the ruins of Titans Tower, avoiding the mangled bodies of the cultists to the best of their ability. Trigon had obviously killed them, and part of M'gann was sickened. At the same time, they directly facilitated this, so another part of her felt it was karmic justice.
They finally reached Raven's room, and as with the rest of the tower, it was in shambles. Her bed was completely shattered, holes blown into her walls, and part of her floor and ceiling had completely caved in on itself. One thing, however, that was still in perfect condition was Raven's nightstand, which caused Beast Boy to sigh happily.
"Oh, thank God, it's still here," Beast Boy said as he opened the drawer. He threw a few scattered papers and books out of it haphazardly before finally pulling out a small mirror. It was just as he described, although Ruby couldn't help but note the glass was cracked. She really hoped that wouldn't be a problem with what they were about to do. She'd prefer to come out the other end of this thing in one piece, if at all possible.
Beast Boy walked back over to them and held it out in front of the trio.
"You guys ready?" he asked.
"Yes," M'gann immediately answered, and Ruby nodded.
"Let's go save our friend," Ruby proclaimed. A moment later, dark tendrils ejected out of the mirror, pulling all three inside, and the mirror fell to the ground with a soft clang.
Yang dove to the side as Raven – if she could even call her friend's possessed body that – attacked her with a slice of magic. Just as her feet left the ground, the slice shattered a chunk of concrete into tiny fragments that bounced off her. Each impact stung slightly, her diminished Aura dipping further down, before the Golden Dragon landed with a roll. She jumped up again as soon as she could, dodging yet another blast from Raven, and twirled around to fire two rockets from Ember Celica into the possessed half-demon. Raven was consumed in a ball of fire which she quickly blew away with a magical pulse.
"Did you really think that would work?" Trigon mockingly asked as he held up a sphere of magic in Raven's hand. It pulsed wildly, purple sparks arcing through the air and leaving scorch marks along the rubble. Yang didn't respond, instead firing a few shotgun rounds as she strafed in a circle. Behind her, she saw Blake and Weiss run towards Raven.
"I'm sorry, Raven!" Blake yelled as she fired Gambol Shroud towards her.
"We'll get you something nice after this!" Weiss declared, forming a glyph behind her. It glowed blue from an infusion of Freeze Gas, and Weiss then moved the Glyph in front of her. Shards of ice grew on its surface before Weiss rotated her pointed Myrtenaster to the side. As though it were the pulling of a trigger, a hail of ice shot towards Raven. The possessed half-demon, rather than attempt to flee or dodge, merely smirked and cocked her head.
"The work of a child," Trigon declared as he easily constructed a wall in front of himself. The ice simply broke apart before Trigon swiftly gathered the remains. He engulfed the fragments with his magic before redirecting them straight at Weiss. The Ivory Mage hastily created a White Glyph to intersect the projectiles, but a few managed to make it through and cut into her. She grunted from the pain, feeling the dark magic course through her body, but she remained firm just as Blake jumped down from above.
The Faunus had hoped to catch Trigon off-guard, but before she could even make it to her unfortunate enemy, Raven's head snapped back a hundred-and-eighty degrees, shocking Blake to her core as the rest of Raven's body faced an equally horrified Weiss. With an evil smile plastered on Raven's face, Trigon lifted Raven's hand up slightly. Blake soon found herself surrounded by a purple flame, and at first nothing happened.
Then, there was only agony, as though her very soul itself was set aflame. In the back of her mind, she recognized it as hellfire, but as she writhed on the ground she couldn't find it within herself to really care. All she wanted was for it to stop.
"AAGH!" she heard Yang yell at the top of her lungs as she lunged towards Raven, but Trigon merely smirked as he raised his other hand towards her, rapidly levitating a column of concrete that plowed into her side. Yang was carried way, slamming into the side of Titans Tower, but before she could even attempt to get up, more concrete slammed into her. She was quickly buried under the rubble, and Raven's body was forced to laugh.
"Hey, Four-Eyes!" Nora shouted. Trigon turned to face the hammer-maiden, only to receive a trio of grenades to the face. He drew away the fire, focusing it into a ball held in Raven's hand, then ejected the flame towards her. Nora ran to the side, continuing to fire grenade after grenade as she ran away. Ren, meanwhile, crouched behind a chunk of concrete behind Raven, closed his eyes, and gently placed his hand to the ground.
'Please, Brothers, work,' Ren thought as he extended his Semblance towards her. A cackling Raven suddenly went still as his power took hold, and Ren immediately felt the emotions swirling within her body. The rage, the mania, the ecstasy of being on the cusp of victory after so long; Trigon's emotions, clearly.
Behind them all, Ren could also feel Raven, and to his horror, he found her to be entirely conscious of her body's actions. The fear, shame, and anguish over seeing her friends getting torn apart by her father. Ren wanted to throw up, but he persisted under the smallest hope that if he could just calm her down, she'd be able to reassert herself.
'Get out!' he heard Trigon's booming voice echo in his mind, severing the connection he had formed between them and snapping Ren's head back with a painful whiplash. As Ren struggled to recover, he opened his eyes to see the two pairs of Trigon's burning-red eyes boring into his own. He couldn't even raise Stormflower to defend himself before he was picked up and hurled through several slabs of concrete. He felt his bones rattle with each impact, and he struggled to maintain consciousness. When he finally stopped, Ren tried to prop himself up, only to feel Trigon slam magical fists upon his chest repeatedly.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Trigon roared as Ren's vision began to blur and blacken. He could hear a faint yell as something pink slammed into Raven's body with enough force to send the surprised demon flying off. Ren then saw an enraged Nora standing protectively over him, Magnhild shifted into its hammer form.
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN!" Nora yelled as Trigon roared, magic exploding from Raven's body. Rubble flew outward, some hitting Nora's face, but she paid them no heed as she ran straight towards her possessed friend. Raven flew towards her as well, firing a magical beam at the same time. Nora moved her hammer in front of herself and plowed through, surprising the demon enough for Nora to whack Raven's body again to the side. The possessed half-demon's body was carried with the hammer onto the ground, and Nora proceeded to slam Magnhild upon her body repeatedly. She continued to do so until Trigon wrapped a tendril around Nora's waist.
"INSOLLENT CUR!" Trigon roared as he whipped a flailing Nora across the pavement repeatedly then threw her body to the side like a ragdoll. He then floated Raven's body upwards, deflecting a few starbolts from Starfire in the process. The Tamaranean air-tackled her possessed friend and together they flew through several walls of the remarkably still standing Titans Tower. Starfire was hurling powerful, energy-infused punches into Raven's face until they fully cleared the building, where Starfire let go and allowed Raven's body to be carried forward through inertia. She then followed up with a wide neon beam, slamming Raven against the magical barrier keeping the bulk of Trigon's influence out of the city.
At the same time, Starfire couldn't help but note that, even now, the influence was beginning to spread. Water was slowly turning into magma, and a red glow was spreading across the atmosphere. She couldn't allow herself to ruminate, however, as Raven's body pried itself from the magical shield.
"You think you can still win?" Trigon rhetorically asked. Only now did Starfire notice how the voice was a mixture of his and Raven's. It sent chills down her spine, but she merely frowned and held her arms up. Her eyes and hands glowed green, and the two Titans flew at each other at top speed. They impacted with enough force to generate a small shockwave, yet the two continued their aerial brawl.
Below them on the ground, an injured Nightwing tended to his fallen friends alongside an equally injured Cyborg.
"Cyborg, how are you doing?" he asked, hoping for a pleasant answer, but Cyborg shook his head and frowned.
"Not good," he admitted, sparks flying from an open wound on his shoulder. It had been struck by one of Raven's magic spells, tearing right through it as though it were paper. Cyborg considered it a miracle it hadn't simply fallen off. "My systems are operating at only forty-percent capacity."
Nightwing cursed under his breath as he helped Ren to his feet. He saw Weiss applying an Nth Metal coat to Blake, dousing the hellfire from the Faunus' body, while Nora propped herself up on her hammer and made to rejoin her fallen boyfriend. Yang, meanwhile, angrily exploded from the mound of rubble she had been buried under, her hair set alight in a golden flame.
"When I get my hands on him," Yang growled. Nightwing wasn't quite sure if the Huntress was referring to Brother Blood, Trigon, or perhaps just both, but he agreed with her all the same. Seeing one of his best friends, his teammate trapped in a living hell, forced to become a slave to her father's whims, made his blood boil. Deep down he prayed that when they finally manage to get Raven back, he wouldn't run into the cult leader.
He doubted he'd be able to stop himself. He doubted any of them would be able to, and yet he couldn't find it within himself to really care.
"Where's Ruby?" Jaune suddenly asked, Pyrrha holding him up on her shoulder.
"She was with M'gann, looking after Beast Boy," Yang answered, reloading her shotgun-gauntlets at the same time.
"Well, they're not there now," Cyborg replied as he finished patching up the hole in his shoulder. Part of him was worried about that, but at the same time he felt that he knew where they went. Nightwing looked at him from the corner of his eye, figuring the same thing.
"Right now," he began, "our best bet is with those three."
"Then what are we going to do?" Pyrrha asked as Jaune removed himself from her shoulder.
Nightwing, in response to her question, pulled out both of his shock-batons. "Hold the bastard off."
Ruby found it hard to perfectly describe her surroundings. Surreal was the closest word that came to mind. Disturbing, too.
"Pixar lied to me," Ruby finally got out. Gone was the picturesque visage of the inner-workings of the human psyche she'd imagined when Beast Boy first told her of the plan. Instead was a ruined hellscape of jagged rocks floating in a blood-red, lightning filled sky. Rivers of magma flowed off the floating platforms into an endless abyss, and when the red lightning flashed, she could see the mountainous silhouette of a horned, four-eyed monstrosity.
Trigon. Ruby couldn't help but think of him as being bigger than how Raven previously described him.
"Okay, Gar. You've been here before, somehow," M'gann started, a little annoyed at how her younger brother obviously didn't tell her about this little incident. "What can we expect?"
"Raven's mind is…complicated," Beast Boy admitted through a wince. He could feel that at least one of his ribs were broken, which made talking and breathing difficult.
"How complicated?" Ruby asked, trying to see how being inside a person's mind could get any more complicated than it already was. Were the stones she was walking on actual rock, or was it simply brain matter and bundles of nerve cells Ruby's mind perceived as rock? Was everyone's mind like this? Was her mind like this, and if so what did it look like? She hoped it looked better than this.
"As in, she has little copies of herself running around the place, each embodying a separate emotion of hers. I call them Emoticlones."
Ruby and M'gann stared blankly at Beast Boy, who shrugged. Ruby pondered the statement, then her face lit up.
"Oh my god, it is like Inside Out!" she exclaimed, and M'gann sighed.
"Anyway," the White Martian pressed on while Ruby excitingly pondered the implications, "these 'Emoticlones'. What are they?"
"They're just what I said, living embodiments of her emotions," Beast Boy reiterated. He then knelt and partially turned his hand into a claw, using it to draw diagrams on the ground.
"There's eight in total," Beast Boy explained as his sister and Ruby came over to him. "Pink Raven is her Joy, Gray is her Timidity, Green is her Bravery, Orange is her Rudeness, Yellow is her Knowledge, Purple is her Passion, Brown is her Sloth, and Red is her Anger."
"Hmm," M'gann hummed, rubbing her chin. "I can suspect that their personalities are obvious?"
"Yep," Beast Boy said, popping the 'p'. "Last time Cy and I were here, Anger was being used as a channel for Trigon to take over. It took us uniting all of the other emotions with Raven herself to overcome them."
"So, that's what we do," Ruby declared. "We find the other Emoticlones, bring them to where Raven is being held, and kick Trigon out."
"Is it really that simple?" M'gann pointedly asked, and Beast Boy sighed.
"I…don't know. Raven was still in control of herself when that happened. There's no telling if it would work now."
Ruby paused and frowned. In the distance, another red flash illuminated Trigon's silhouette, and she clenched her fist at the sight.
"We have to try," she proclaimed. "Raven would do the exact same thing for us. We owe her nothing less."
M'gann and Beast Boy looked at the Red Reaper then nodded. She was right. Even if the effort was doomed from the start, they had to at least try.
"Alright, let's do it," Beast Boy said as he rose to his feet.
"Where do we go first?" M'gann asked as the trio began walking down the stone platform.
"Raven's mind is like a maze," Beast Boy explained. "Each emotion is housed in its own separate place. We find them, we find the emotions and we're one step closer to freeing Raven."
Ruby liked the sound of that. Simple and straightforward. But, the more she thought about, the more a glaring problem sprang to mind.
"Uhh, quick question," she began, "where do we go?"
Beast Boy moved to answer, only to stop himself. His mind became blank, and after a while he sighed and looked at his feet.
"… I don't know," he admitted, and M'gann couldn't help but slap her face while Ruby simply looked a little peeved before straightening herself out.
"Well, let's get going, then!" she shouted as she continued marching on. "Time's wasting!"
The other two nodded along before following her. They kept close, moving at a quick but steady pace while keeping sure to avoid drawing attention toward themselves. The more distance they traveled, the more damage they saw being wrought across Raven's mindscape. It was horrifying to the young Huntress, but she pressed on all the same until they finally came across a splitting path. One led to higher ground, while the other descended. Both ended with a hollowed-out circular stone, and Beast Boy snapped his fingers at the sight of them.
"Those are the doors," he said. "They lead to the other personalities."
"Really?" Beast Boy nodded at Ruby's question, and she turned to ponder both portals. She couldn't decide which one to go through, so she decided on a tried and true method.
"Eenie-meanie-minie-moe," Ruby chanted as she quickly began alternating where her hand was pointing. Beast Boy and M'gann looked at her deprecatingly, yet neither of them had a better method so they went along with it. Finally, Ruby settled on the bottom path, and began walking down towards it.
"You're going the wrong way," a small, timid voice whispered out, halting the trio in their tracks. Ruby whipped Crescent Rose around towards the source, eventually finding herself aiming at a small cluster of rocks. M'gann and Beast Boy were staring at it as well, ready to strike at a moment's notice when they saw a head peek out.
"Raven?" Ruby asked as she folded her weapon and strapped it to her back before jogging over. When Raven's head disappeared behind the rock in fear, she stopped herself. The Red Reaper wondered why Raven would act in such a manner, only to remember one of the emotions Beast Boy had earlier described.
"Are you… Timid?" Ruby gently asked. Raven's head peeked out once again, quickly nodding. Ruby nodded back, then Beast Boy crouched next to her.
"Hey, remember me?" he asked, and Timid nodded again. Beast Boy smiled. "I remember you, too. Come on out, okay? We're trying to find Raven, and we need your help."
"… I'm not much help to anyone," Timid stated as she finally exited her makeshift shelter. Ruby immediately noted that she looked exactly like Raven. The only difference was that her cloak was grey in color, and her expression was fearful.
"What are you talking about? You're a lot of help," Ruby replied as she slowly walked up to the emotion. Timid looked at her and shook her head.
"It's my fault we're in this mess. If I only—"
"Nope," Ruby interjected, surprising the others present. Timid moved to interject, only for Ruby to shake her head. "Nope, we are not having a pity party today. Instead, we're going to go out, find the other yous, and kick your dad's butt! Come on!"
Ruby suddenly grabbed Timid's hand and led them both up the ascending path. Beast Boy and M'gann watched them go with surprise before moving after them.
"Where was she the last time?" Beast Boy wondered.
"What do you mean?" M'gann asked.
"I mean that Ruby would have been a huge help last time dealing with Timid Raven."
"Oh, come on." M'gann smiled. "She's not that bad. A little sad, but…"
"Sis, you don't understand how tiresome it is to have a person say 'I'm sorry' over, and over, and over again. Constantly, for every single infraction. Ones I didn't even know she did, and others I wish she didn't let me know."
"I'm sorry!" Timid shouted back, her voice softened by the distance, and Beast Boy sighed.
"Imagine that but multiply it by ten-thousand."
M'gann did the mental math, then winced. She could see how that situation would have quickly gotten old. Still, they had a job to do, and so they continued through the open portal. To both her and Ruby's slight surprise, the air rippled around them as their surroundings changed. The sky above them was still blood-red, indicative of Trigon's corrupting influence, but the landscape around was a serene grassy plain. Flowers marked the golden grass, Ruby could swear she heard giggling.
At the same time, however, she saw the grass and flowers dying on the far end of the field. Trigon's corruption was spreading, and Ruby didn't know how long they had.
"I'm sorry," Timid apologized once again.
"It's okay," Ruby replied. "BB, which emotion lives here?"
"Joy, I think," Beast Boy responded. They heard a giggle rise over the hills and he pointed towards it. "Probably somewhere over there."
M'gann and Ruby nodded before running towards where Beast Boy had pointed. Timid remained rooted in place, prompting Ruby to come back and pick her up bridal style then rush back into the fray. Beast Boy and M'gann had disappeared behind a hill, but as Ruby got closer she began to hear shouts. She placed Timid back on the ground, pulling out Crescent Rose as she popped over the hill, only to see Beast Boy getting hugged by a pink-cloaked Raven.
"I'm so happy you're here!" Joy proclaimed as Beast Boy tried to pry her off.
"Get off me!"
"No, hugging you makes me happy!"
"You're always happy!"
"Yep!"
Ruby and M'gann looked in mild fascination at the overly joyful Raven. This was an unexpected look for the half-demon, all smiles and full of rainbows. It unnerved them, while Beast Boy simply looked annoyed. He looked at the two girls for assistance, and with a smile on her face M'gann moved to get Happy Raven off.
"Alright, alright. Get off him, you've had your fun," M'gann insisted.
"Okay!" Joy said as she let go of Beast Boy, causing him to fall on his butt. Joy giggled, and when she saw Ruby with Timid she smiled and waved. "Hello!"
"… Hi," Ruby waved back. "Uh, where's…?"
"The others? Oh, they're hiding from Dad, mostly. Not me, though. I'm not going to let those guys ruin my mood."
"That's…good. Wait, what do you mean by 'those guys'?" Ruby asked, suddenly very worried as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Joy smiled and pointed to the far end of the field.
"Oh, them!" Joy declared, and the three heroes followed her hand to see a horde of black creatures charging towards them. Ruby's eyes widened as she recognized the black fur intersected with white bone plates and glowing red eyes.
"Those are Grimm, right?" Joy asked, and Ruby nodded. "Thought so. They aren't fun to play with at all."
"You think?!" Ruby shouted as she quickly aimed Crescent Rose at the horde and fired. The head of a Beowolf snapped back as the electrified rubber bullet slammed into it, the beast stumbling and twitching while the others charged onwards, before it shook itself and followed them. Ruby let out a cry of annoyance as she belatedly switched to a more lethal magazine.
With a wordless shout, M'gann and Beast Boy charged forward to meet the Grimm head on, Beast Boy turning himself into a rhino as they made contact. He impaled an Ursa on his horn while the nimbler Beowolves leapt on top of him. They clawed and bit at his thick hide, but M'gann flew into this and quickly destroyed them with a few well-placed punches and kicks. She tried to destroy another's mind, only to quickly find that there was no mind in the first place.
"Well, that's not creepy at all!" M'gann shouted as a Beowolf lunged at her. She turned intangible, causing the beast to flail through her with no damage wrought. Ruby, rejoining the fray, bisected the monster with her scythe, shooting a few more as she came to rest. When a Creep tried to bite her leg off, Ruby jumped and fired into its head, killing the Grimm instantly while using her Semblance to elevate herself. Using her glider-cape to slow her descent, Ruby fired shot after shot, each one striking the head of a Grimm and killing it. She aimed at another, only to see Happy Raven joyfully run through the horde without a care in the world.
"WHAT?!" Ruby shouted as she hastily shifted her aim, striking a Grimm in the leg that was lunging at the Emoticlone. Happy Raven laughed while spinning around the claw of an Ursa, which immediately was trampled by a green elephant. Beast Boy continued to swing his head from side to side, crushing and impaling Grimm with each movement, while M'gann flew above the horde. She concentrated and threw out telekinetic blasts, crushing the Grimm almost instantly. There were only a few left, and M'gann felt confident for the first time that day. She then heard a scream, and she whipped her head around to see Timid running from a Creep. M'gann, using her super speed, flew towards the Grimm and slammed it into the ground. Its body still stirred, so M'gann punched it with enough force to split apart the head. Then, the body disintegrated into dust, and M'gann allowed herself to breath.
"I'm so—"
"Stop saying you're sorry," M'gann interrupted the emotion. Standing up, she turned angrily towards Happy Raven, who somehow managed to maintain her happy state even as Ruby and Beast Boy tore into her.
"Seriously, now was not the time for fun and games!" Ruby declared while pointing at Joy's head. The Emoticlone merely giggled at the action, prompting Beast Boy to lightly growl.
"You could have gotten hurt, and right now that is the last thing we need," Beast Boy chastised.
"Oh, I know," Joy said, causing Ruby to scoff theatrically.
"Then why did you treat the entire thing like a game?!" Ruby asked.
"Because I have to. I'm Raven's happiness, and if I let myself not be happy, Dad's one step closer to consuming her." Joy's answer caused Ruby and Beast Boy to stare at her in shock.
"…oh. Okay then, carry on."
"Will do!" Joy saluted, then began skipping on. "Come on, I'll show you to the others. Except for Anger, but she's currently with dad and Raven now, so we'll find them soon."
The three heroes briefly pondered that statement for what it meant and immediately came to the same conclusion. As before, Trigon was using Anger as his chief vessel to take over Raven's body. The presence of the Grimm inside of her head was alarming as well, but they knew that now was not the time to seek the answers to that.
"Gar," M'gann whispered as they followed the emotion to another portal, "was she like…this last time?"
"Yes," Beast Boy answered with a shudder. "Yes, she was."
"Ah."
The trio nodded at Beast Boy's statement while continuing down the path. After a moment, Timid began to apologize for her fellow emotion's actions, only for the three to cut her off with an instant declaration of forgiveness.
They finally reached the portal as most of the remaining grassland was consumed. Everyone was moving quicker now, wanting to reach the next area as soon as possible. When they went through the entryway, Ruby, M'gann, Beast Boy, and the two Emoticlones found themselves in a colossal library. More Emoticlones were already waiting for them, a yellow-cloaked and glasses-wearing Raven at their front.
"Close the door, now," she ordered, and a green-cloaked Raven energetically did so. She fired a green orb of magic into the doorway, sealing it off just as more Grimm attempted to enter the library. Ruby felt her breath hitch as the portal shuddered, but soon went still.
"I think we're good," M'gann said as she sighed in relief. She then turned to face the yellow Raven, Knowledge if she remembered correctly.
"I apologize for the state," Knowledge said she floated towards them. "But, given our current predicament, that is the least of my concerns."
"Yeah, no kidding," Beast Boy grumbled, only to jump back as a purple Raven suddenly shoved herself onto him. She had a weird look in her eyes, which disturbed the changeling more than he could describe. Before he could even say anything, Passion wrapped him in a big hug and held him close.
"You're okay, you're okay," she whispered as she cradled him. Beast Boy blushed as he felt her hand rub against his head, and he turned his gaze towards his sister and Ruby in a plea for assistance. They gave none as they focused on Knowledge.
"Why are the Grimm here?" Ruby asked.
"Ever since Trigon broke through what was left of our barrier, he's been letting in those creatures," Knowledge answered, flipping through a book that projected an image into the air. "There's around a hundred of them roaming Raven's mind, each a projection of an actual."
"Wait, you mean these aren't real Grimm?" M'gann asked for clarification, and Knowledge nodded.
"Precisely. It's how he's managed to get so many in here. Using his magic, Trigon has created mental copies to spread his corruption throughout Raven's body and hunt us down while he focuses his attention on toying with our friends. Killing one merely reforms it somewhere else."
"Toying?" Ruby felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, which intensified when Knowledge nodded.
"Yes. If Trigon truly wanted to, he could kill the others without a second thought. But, he wants all of us to suffer for preventing his conquest for so long."
Ruby scowled and clenched her fist before a sudden quake caused the room to wobble. She swayed back and forth, waving her arms around before M'gann gently caught her.
"How do you know this?" M'gann asked, slightly unnerved by just how calm the yellow Raven was.
"I am the embodiment of everything Raven has ever learned. That includes her father, and his desire for torment."
Ruby breathed sharply before steeling her gaze. She had to remain focused on the task at hand, and with Crescent Rose held tightly in her arms, she locked gazes with the Emoticlone.
"We have a plan to free Raven."
"I know, that's why we waited for you here and I had Timidity and Joy go get you. The last thing we need is to waste time."
The Titans and Ruby turned their heads to look at both mentioned emotions. Timid shrunk into herself while Joy simply smiled a toothy grin and waved.
"I would have sent Bravery, but she insisted on taking the fight straight to our father with no regard to our safety."
"Oh, come on! I coulda taken 'em!" Bravery declared with a puffed-out chest.
"No, no you couldn't." Knowledge sighed and rubbed her forehead in annoyance. "In any case, right now we have to get to Raven and join with her. Otherwise, Trigon will be unstoppable."
Ruby, M'gann, and Beast Boy looked at each other for a moment then back at the gathered Emoticlones. Both groups nodded at each other, and together they moved towards another portal at the other side of the library. Another quake ensued, toppling a few of the books while the others continued walking without interruption.
"Uggh, I hate walking," the brown-cloaked Raven complained, a lazy drawl dragging out her voice.
"I don't really care," the orange-cloaked Raven responded with a rude huff. The group then reached the other portal, and Knowledge gently threw a yellow sphere into it.
"This will take us straight to Raven and Trigon," she explained as a yellow swirl appeared between the stone. "I suggest you ready yourselves."
Ruby, Beast Boy, and M'gann focused their gazes and straightened their backs. The changeling felt a brief pain course through his chest, but he ignored it. His friend was in danger, and that mattered more to him than any personal bodily damage. Then, he saw Ruby stride towards the portal, her determination echoing with each step, until she disappeared completely. One by one, the others followed suit until nothing was left in the library.
Had any remained, they could have seen it consumed and swallowed into the void.
Jaune grunted as he was slammed into a steel support beam. It dented from the impact, and the White Knight fell onto his butt. He groaned, rubbing his head before he saw a crimson blur race towards him. He barely had time to scream before Pyrrha's body struck him, causing both to crash through the beam completely. The two partners laid sprawled on top of each other in pain.
"Uggh…" Jaune moaned.
"… I'm sorry…" Pyrrha apologized as she slowly rose off her partner's body, fighting through the pain wracking her body, and helped Jaune to his feet. Together, they turned to face the possessed Raven and frowned.
The battle was not going well. It was obvious by now that Trigon was toying with the group, intending to draw out their suffering for as long as possible. His spells were watered down, his aim slightly off, all done with a cackling grin plastered across Raven's face. She, herself, had taken on a more demonic appearance. Two pairs of horns were beginning to grow on top of her head, and her teeth were becoming sharp fangs. A dark aura was pulsating around her body, warping the air and sucking in the heat. Despite the sea of magma around them, Jaune could swear he saw his breath at times.
He wouldn't let that stop him however, as he raised his shield in front of him and charged towards Raven. The possessed half-demon smiled as she lazily threw a spell towards him. Rather than try to block it, which Jaune knew would only end disastrously for him, he jumped to the side and allowed it to strike the ground behind him. His hair ruffled from the explosion, but he kept his stride and closed the distance. Jaune swung Crocea Mors at Raven, who instead of trying to dodge or even deflect his blow simply caught the blade with the palm of her hand.
"Uh…" Jaune said as Raven's four eyes bored into his own, smiling wickedly at him.
"Jaune Arc," Trigon replied as he enveloped Jaune in an ethereal aura. Jaune could feel his limbs begin to stretch, and he fought to keep his screams down as Trigon marched towards him. "Oh yes, I know who you are. I know who all of you are. Did you honestly think that you, a fraud, could stand against me?"
"Grrgh," Jaune grunted, biting his lip to keep down his scream. He could feel his muscles straining, which Trigon noticed as he cruelly continued to pull Jaune apart. Finally, Jaune managed to find it within himself to speak again.
"Not…really…," he admitted, tasting a hint of copper on his tongue, "but…she might…"
Trigon looked confused for a moment, giving Pyrrha enough time to hurl Akoúo̱ at Raven's head. It rebounded towards Pyrrha with a dull thud, causing Trigon to flinch and drop Jaune from his grasp.
"…ow…" Jaune groaned as he landed on his back. He didn't have time to wallow, however, as Pyrrha raced towards a furious Raven.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Trigon roared as he sent a wave of dark magic towards Pyrrha. She jumped and twirled sideways over attack, throwing Akoúo̱ at the top of her spin and finishing with a three-point landing. Trigon angrily deflected the attack and flew towards Pyrrha, who herself fired Miló towards her advancing form. A magical shield prevented the bullets from making any headway, and so when the demon closed the distance between them she reconfigured her rifle into a sword, recalled Akoúo̱ with her Semblance, and engaged into a swift brawl.
The two combatants were moving so fast, it was hard for Jaune to accurately make out. Trigon, through Raven's body, shot and whipped magic towards Pyrrha at every opportunity. The Crimson Guardian meanwhile, bobbed, weaved, jumped and twirled around each attack with expert precision. With each dodge, she counter-attacked with a slice or stab, occasionally bashing Raven with her shield.
Pyrrha sliced at Raven, only for her opponent to melt into shadow and quickly reform behind her. She whipped around to hastily thrust her shield in front of her just as Raven struck, sending Pyrrha skidding back across the rubble. She was able to keep her footing, however. Gritting her teeth, she charged at Raven with her shield up, reconfiguring Miló into its rifle form at the same time. She fired while charging, the bullets striking Raven's body but not penetrating. When she got nearer, she jumped and delivered a flying kick into Raven's gut, knocking her back slightly and allowing Pyrrha to uppercut her with the shield. Raven flew upward from the blow, and Pyrrha crouched and fired several shots into her descending body.
Raven's body landed in a heap, but quickly disappeared into shadow and stood right back up. An enraged look was crossing her face, one that looked terrifying to the Crimson Guardian. Pyrrha, undeterred, stood her ground and simply banged Miló against Akoúo̱ twice in a challenging display. Trigon gritted Raven's teeth, and the red of her skin darkened into a cool maroon. The two charged at each other again just as Jaune managed to regain his bearings and rush to join his partner. Trigon saw this, and much to Jaune's surprise, smiled.
Jaune felt a tendril wrap around his ankle, and with a shout he was lifted high into the air. The tendril began to whip him back and forth across the ground, breaking Pyrrha's concentration long enough for Trigon to wrap a tendril around her entire body, immobilizing her. He began to squeeze, and Pyrrha felt her bones constrict.
"Do you not see how futile your resistance is?" he mocked. "You couldn't stop Brainiac from destroying your world, and his powers are pitiful compared to mine. What hope do you have?"
"Gah!" Pyrrha lightly screamed as she struggled to free herself but was unable to do so. Trigon smirked, catching a few grenades with his magic and hurling them back towards Nora. Ren charged towards her as well, firing Stormflower at full auto as he closed the distance. In a mocking display of power, Trigon allowed the bullets to strike him, his magic instantly healing the wounds they caused. Ren closed the distance, slicing up Trigon's body with his bayonets, only to receive the same result.
Growing annoyed with this distraction, Trigon shot Ren away with a pulse of magic, causing his body to be hurled into Nora's. The two collapsed in a heap, but before they could even attempt to rise, Trigon buried them under a mound of rubble. Still smirking to himself, he felt a shotgun blast strike his head, recoiling it back slightly. Slowly, he turned Raven's head to regard Yang and Blake, who were in less than stellar conditions. Their Auras were flickering, and bruises were beginning to form across their bodies.
Turning towards them, Trigon slowly walked forward with Raven's hands outstretched, reddish-purple orbs concealing them as her cape billowed behind her. With a yell, Yang shot forward at her possessed friend, throwing punch after punch into Raven's body. To her anger, each blow was merely absorbed by shadow, doing no damage whatsoever. Blake, circling behind Trigon, fired Gambol Shroud into her back, only for the bullets to completely phase through Trigon and strike a surprised Yang. She stumbled back, crossing her arms to protect herself, only to give Trigon an opening to grab Yang with magic and hurl her into the Faunus. The two flew back and struck a wall of concrete, shattering it into thousands of tiny fragments as their Auras finally broke.
"Yang…" Blake mumbled as she struggled to fight through the intense pain coursing through her body but found herself unable to rise. Yang, her arms shaking, pushed herself slowly up while glaring at Raven's approaching body, only to feel Raven's heels violently push her back to the ground.
"There, where you belong," Trigon taunted. "Under my heel, just like the rest of this pathetic world."
"Screw…you…" Yang spat, only for Trigon to respond by violently kicking her side. Yang felt the air leave her lungs as she heard a pop, and she clutched her side in pain.
"Know your place, and you may just live." He ordered and turned to face the last remaining Titans. A battered and bruised Nightwing, Starfire, and Cyborg were racing towards them, the Tamaranean throwing starbolts at Raven's body while Cyborg fired his plasma cannon. Trigon deflected them with ease, whipping them apart with tendrils of dark magic.
"YAAGH!" Cyborg yelled as he charged ahead, firing his plasma cannon at maximum intensity. Trigon merely let the plasma balls shoot through Raven's body, warping her in grotesque ways to cause the projectiles to go through her without harm. When Cyborg got close enough, he threw a downward punch into the back of Raven's head, buckling it down where it met a point-blank shot of his sonic cannon. As Trigon stumbled back, clutching Raven's head in pain, Cyborg thrust his arms forward and combined them into one large canon. His back opened, revealing ports that glowed as he charged his weapon. Then, he fired a cone of sonic waves infused with plasma, sending a roaring Trigon back into the ruins of Titans Tower. Part of the building collapsed further from the damage, causing Cyborg to frown sadly.
"Ah, man. My Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch was in there…" he mentioned as he brought his attention back to a recovered Trigon. Raven's body was no worse for the wear, much to Cyborg's disappointment. Returning his arms to their normal configuration, he quickly raised them up to block a retaliatory strike from Trigon. The magic broke against his metallic arms, yet the force was powerful enough to send him skidding back across the ground. He ground his teeth and dug in his heels while ports opened on his back, each one filled with a small missile. At once, they shot out towards Raven and detonated on contact with her body, consuming her in a cloud of black smoke.
The smoke was quickly dissipated by a slice of reddish-purple magic, sending the surprised Cyborg flying back. Starfire flew around him while firing two beams of ultraviolet energy from her hands, joined by a pair of ocular blasts. The four beams converged on Raven, who constructed a shield to keep them away from her. Growing more tired of their interference by the moment, Trigon broke course and flew towards her. Starfire flew back, firing a few starbolts which Trigon easily dodged. Starfire continued to fly while looking back at Raven, throwing starbolt after starbolt, only for Raven to suddenly disappear in shadow. Surprised, Starfire stopped and turned her body from side to side, trying to find her.
She then felt pain erupt from her back and out her front. Slowly, she lowered her head to look at a blade of magic stabbing out of her. With wide eyes, she turned her head around to stare into Raven's four glowing red eyes. With a fanged grin, Raven violently pulled the blade out of Starfire's body. There was no visible wound, but Starfire clutched it all the same in utter agony as she lost control of her flight and crashed hard into the ground.
"Kori!" Nightwing shouted as he ran towards his fallen teammate and girlfriend, only for Raven to suddenly teleport in front of him. Stopping himself, Nightwing flipped over a shot of magic and struck Raven on the downward spiral with his electrified batons, spinning her around.
"Grrg," Trigon grunted as he reoriented himself. To the demon's surprise, he felt a tinge of pain along Raven's head where Nightwing's attacks had hit him. He then looked at Nightwing's batons, and he saw a small coat of a silver powder.
"Nth Metal…" Trigon growled before an idea popped into his head. Smiling, he slowly floated up above Nightwing, taking delight in how heavy the Titan leader's breathing was. "Tell me, how long were you going to sit on that?"
"If you think I'm going to answer that…," Nightwing replied before launching himself at Raven, firing a grappling hook to bring her towards him. He met her body with a rising knee, swinging a baton at the same time. Trigon blocked the baton with her arm, only for the other to suddenly slam into her gut, knocking her back.
"So you say," Trigon stated while clutching the afflicted area, still smiling, "and yet despite it being one of the only materials you have capable of possibly defeating me, you only use it now after all of your friends have fallen. How curious."
Nightwing, rather than respond, threw a trio of explosive wing-dings towards his possessed friend, each one rocking her body. He then combined his batons into a large bo staff, each end electrified, and ran towards Raven with one end pointed forward like a spear. Nightwing slammed into her gut, sending volts of electricity through her body and sending her slightly back, but Trigon merely grabbed hold of the weapon and held it to Raven's body.
"You think I don't know why you are only using it now, but you, Dick Grayson, are wrong. I know exactly why you've refrained from using Nth Metal: you still care for her and think she can be saved."
"We will save her, you monster," Nightwing growled as he suddenly let go of his staff. He then jumped on top of the end closest to him, causing the weapon to bend and rip itself out of Raven's hands. The end closest to Raven uppercutted her, knocking her head back and causing the staff to spin in the air. Nightwing caught it and spun it end to end, each circle striking Raven multiple times. Each blow staggered her, forcing Trigon to grit Raven's teeth as he flew back to gain some distance.
"Oh, I very much doubt that," Trigon taunted while lightly knocking Raven's head with her fist. "There isn't much left of her to save. What little remains will be consumed and replaced with my own design."
"Raven is stronger than you think. She's stronger than you," Nightwing declared while throwing a wing-ding. Unlike last time, however, Trigon caught the projectile in between Raven's fingers, crushing it with ease.
"I admit, Raven is powerful in many ways. Her efforts to keep me at bay were…impressive. But, what else can I expect from my only daughter and favorite child? Especially when her brothers were so…disappointing compared to her. They were unimaginative, unimpressive, and weak cretins who didn't deserve my blood."
This was the first Nightwing had heard of Trigon having other children, but he couldn't say he was surprised given who Trigon was and his age. He hoped that these sons of Trigon weren't still around, but that was a worry for another day as Trigon continued his taunting rant despite blocking more of Nightwing's attacks.
"Her capacity to love was what made her stand out, however," Trigon admitted while grabbing hold of Nightwing's staff. "Neither I nor my sons ever could, and ultimately that love is what makes her so powerful and perfect for my designs. Only she could open the door to Earth, a prize I've been yearning for for so long…"
"You'll continue to yearn for it!" Nightwing attempted a spin kick, only for Trigon to catch his foot and hurl him away. Nightwing managed to land himself properly, readying a wing-ding, only to pause at Trigon's open posture.
"Dick Grayson… You care for Raven. You always have, and deep down, you know my daughter is beyond your ability to save. There is a way for you to stop me, but are you willing to pay the price?"
Nightwing stopped cold. He knew exactly what Trigon was referring to. His mind edged towards it as he thumbed an Nth Metal knife holstered in his utility belt.
"Yes… Nth Metal, the ubiquitous material of Thanagar and its people. One capable of killing Gods. Were you to stab me with it now, I would die… But so would Raven."
Nightwing hissed sharply, confirming Trigon's unasked question. The demon's laughter boomed across the island as he glared at him.
"Well? What are you waiting for? You have the chance to save your world right here and now. To stop me forever. Do it. DO IT!"
"I won't-!" Nightwing began, only for Trigon to cut him off.
"You fool. If you won't listen to me," Raven's features began to change, seemingly returning to normal as Trigon's voice filtered out, "perhaps you'll listen to her…"
"What…?" Nightwing breathed as Raven's horns receeded, her skin became its familiar grey, and her second pair of eyes disappeared. In a daze, she swayed back and forth and prepared to fall, only for Nightwing to dive forward, catching her in his arms.
"Raven! Raven, speak to me!" Nightwing begged, and Raven began to cough with her eyes closed.
"Di- Dick?" she barely got out.
"Yes, it's me, Raven. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine!"
"Pl-please," she whispered, her voice raspy as tears began to stream out of the corners of her eyes. "K-kill me, please… Don't let…him win…"
Nightwing felt his heart shatter at Raven's request, tears of his own coming out of his torn mask. Again, his eyes drifted towards the knife. Slowly, he pulled it out and held it above her, debating whether to fulfill her wish. Then, with a shout, he angrily threw the weapon away and held Raven close.
"No!" Nightwing declared. Raven, surprised, opened her eyes as Nightwing held her tightly. "Raven, I promise you that we will win! You and all of us, together!"
Raven stared out across the molten sea surrounding the ruins of Titans Tower, feeling Nightwing's words shake into her core. She wrapped her arms around him as she began to sob, wanting this moment to last forever.
"Dick, you…you… you fool," Raven's voice suddenly gave way to Trigon's demonic echo, and Nightwing felt a burst of agony erupt from his back as four large spikes of magic stabbed into him, two at the shoulders and two at the hips.
"GAAGH!" he screamed as the magic hefted him up as Raven's features quickly gave way to her demonic form.
"You blind, foolish child. Throwing away the only weapon, the only chance you had to defeat me. And for what, a chance at a moral victory over me, one that kept your family intact? Your defeat was sealed the moment you let weakness cloud your judgement."
Trigon gently floated over to the barrier as the other Titans writhed in pain along the ground, his magic coursing through them.
"You…won't…win!" Nightwing shouted through the pain, only for Trigon to laugh.
"And who, exactly, stands to stop me? The three currently traversing my daughter's mind in a desperate attempt to free her?" Seeing Nightwing's alarmed expression, Trigon smiled. "Oh, yes. I know they are here, and like you they stand no chance. Admittedly, the changeling's survival is unexpected, but one that will be quickly rectified."
Hearing this, Yang attempted to rise off the ground once again, only for the magic pinning her to tighten. The others met the same result, and Trigon laughed.
"It's hopeless to resist. But fret not, you shall not die just yet. No, you will only receive that mercy once I am done with my work. First your precious city, then the Earth itself will follow. You will watch as the people you vowed to protect burn in agony, living out the rest of their feeble existence as my playthings, knowing that you failed. Only then, when you know the true depth of your failure, will I grant you the sweet mercy of death."
Then, without saying another word, Trigon charged up a spell and fired it at the barrier. At first, it did nothing, but then, to their horror, cracks began to appear.
[~][~]
We're in the two-part finale, folks. Trigon has officially entered the arena, and is posing the greatest challenge our heroes have had to face since Brainiac. Special thanks to Jesse K and NaanContributor for all their help.
Q&A:
Jebest4871: Glad to have you join us! I'm happy that you're enjoying the story and hope you continue to do so.
Guest (1): Yep, Brother Eye is a staple part of the Batman mythos. That surveillance equipment he made and used once in The Dark Knight was a reference to Brother Eye. I figured that it would be a good thing to implement here.
Guest (2): I cannot and will not elaborate any further on other RWBY characters interacting with the DC Universe at this time due to spoiler concerns. As such, I can't answer this question.
Steelrain66: I'm happy that you're enjoying the story so much. And yes, I am an ardent BBxRae shipper, why do you ask? In all honesty, though, the relationship between Beast Boy and Raven is too good to pass up on. He is the closest friend Raven has on the Titans, due to their similar ages, and I wanted to emphasize that over the past few chapters. As such, when I had Beast Boy get severely wounded, it would strike a heavy emotional blow. As for Wayne Manor, you'll have to wait and see.
MadTitan9: I don't know what therapy could bring a person back from the dead, but whatever it is, Arthur Light would definitely need it. On a serious note, yes. Light is dead. He was, ultimately, a rabid dog used by Brother Blood to achieve his aims. It wasn't helped that Brother Blood ultimately blamed the Titans for his predicament and for all the times they thwarted him in the past, so he wanted some revenge. 'Better to be a tool than a victim', only Blood had turned him into both. It's kind of tragic, in a sense.
Dracus6: I won't comment on that due to spoilers. I won't be commenting on any other character requests as well. If they are set to appear in the story, I will let the story detail that. Otherwise, the rule of spoilers applies and as such I will no longer be answering those questions. As for the Light, I will confirm that they do not exist in this continuity.
That's it for this chapter. See you guys next time, and let me know what you think.