The path was straight, but very long and tedious. I passed through a tunnel and reached another segment of the path. Thankfully, I saw an end to it. A church stood there. I walked past thick columns with flames on top. The columns were carved to look like faces frozen in terror, making the hair on my neck stand whenever I accidentally glanced at them.
The back of my head quickly started to heat up. I pulled an energy pistol out and whirled around. A fiery hand smacked against my wrist, knocking the pistol out of my hand. It clattered to the ground, away from my reach. The columns transformed into fire soldiers.
I reached for my other pistol, but something else caught my attention; Robin's birdarangs. I plucked them from my belt, ducking as a fire soldier swung at me. I brought the birdarangs together. There was a click, and a long, yellowish-white blade sprung from the top. I swung up, slicing one of the fire soldiers in half. It crumbled to ashes, leaving an opening to my pistol. I rushed over, performing a one-hand cartwheel as I grabbed my pistol. As I came back up, I brought the sword up to block a soldier's punch. I shoved the pistol into its chest and fired. The laser cut through the soldier's chest.
As the second soldier dissipated, I stabbed the sword into the ground, brought up my other pistol, and transformed them into my energy sword. One of the two remaining soldiers launched a fireball at me. With a gasp, I pulled the birdarang sword from the ground, reeled back both arms, and swiped them vertically. The blades cut through the fire, chopping it in half and sending it in different directions.
Man, that was cool! A giddy smile filled my lips. I charged toward one of the soldiers. Its chest puffed out, ready to spit fire, but I swiped the swords at its neck and chest, chopping it into thirds. I heard the roar of the final fire soldier as it charged from behind. Gripping the handle of the birdarang sword tighter, I spun around, swinging my arm with the momentum. The blade sliced through the soldier. It melted into ash. I paused a moment to catch my breath and disassemble the swords. I tucked the pistols and birdarangs back into my holster belt and continued down the path.
Up close, the church was extremely damaged. The roof was gone and the walls were decaying. I pushed open the stained glass double doors, which were still perfectly intact. The other end of the room was buried under a pile of rubble. I passed by the rows of cracked pews.
"Hello?" I called. My voice echoed. I heard rocks scatter from the kick of a shoe. "...Raven?"
I heard the soft flutter of fabric. The footsteps stopped behind me. I turned and saw Raven peering from behind a leaning pillar. She was a child, perhaps nine years old. Her leotard, cloak, and boots were white.
"Wh-Who are you?" Raven said.
I approached the pillar. Raven stepped back. I crouched down. "My name is Ciela. It's all right; I won't hurt you. Would you mind telling me how you wound up in this place?"
Raven looked around the area. "I... I don't know. I'm lost."
"It must be really scary here." Raven nodded. I smiled. "Everything's okay now. I'm here to help you."
I reached a hand out to Raven. She inched away.
"I know you're confused about a lot of things. Even if you can't remember, I'm a friend. I can get you out of here, but I need you to trust me." I said. "Do you think you can do that?"
Slowly, Raven shuffled her feet to me. She squeezed past the pillar, reached out, and placed her small hand in mine. I gently wrapped my fingers around it and stood up.
"The way I came is rather dangerous. Do you know of a different path out of here?" I said.
Raven nodded, released my hand, and jogged to a hole in the debris. She crawled into the hole. I hurried to one of the open windows and jumped out, meeting her at the top of a staircase. We walked down the stairs and across a bridge high above a chasm.
We came across another river of lava. Another rowboat was anchored nearby. Raven and I climbed in, and I rowed the boat over to the other side. We stepped out and continued walking, hand-in-hand.
"You said that we're friends. But I don't know who you are." Raven said.
"That's all right. Even if you don't remember me, I remember you." I said. "You see, there was a time when this world was filled with bright colors. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and everywhere you went, there was always a smiling face to greet you. But sometimes, there were bad people who didn't like those things, and so they tried to get rid of them and make everyone sad. When that would happen, a group of people called the Teen Titans came to the rescue and stopped the bad guys. They're still here, fighting to bring those bright colors back to the world. I'm a part of that group, and so were you."
"Really?" Raven said, her eyes shimmering. "Do you think I can be a hero one day?"
"Of course you can."
Raven smiled, but it quickly vanished when the ground started to rumble. We turned and saw the river below part. A wave of fire soldiers emerged and flew up to the ceiling, bursting through the rocky layer. As one fire soldier flew by, its arm accidentally snagged the hood of Raven's cloak, taking her high into the air.
"Raven!" I cried. The fire soldier, noticing Raven hanging on its arm, shook her off. She screamed as she began to fall. I sprinted to the edge of the path and lunged, wrapping my arms around her as we plunged toward the river of lava.
Along with Raven, who had her arms securely around my neck, another pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I looked up and saw Robin. He pulled out his grappling hook and aimed it at the wall. The hook wrapped around a pillar, yanking the three of us up to a nearby ledge. Our combined weight caused it to crack.
"Come on!" Robin cried. We hurried down the extended ledge, the ground behind me crumbled under my feet. We jumped onto sturdy ground, and another wave of fire soldiers passed us and flew to the surface. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah." I said, rubbing Raven's back as she trembled in my arms.
"What happened?" Robin said.
"Trigon wanted to make sure she couldn't try and stop him, so this is what he came up with." I set Raven down and crouched to her level. "Are you okay?"
Raven nodded, her head bowed. "Why... are you here? Why did you come for me?"
"Do you remember me now?"
Raven nodded and folded her arms. "The story that you told me. I remember it like it was yesterday: those bright colors, our friends... my father... like it was a dream." Raven stared into the river of lava. "That world no longer exists. It's gone."
"There may still be a way to fix things." Robin said.
"How?!" Raven turned around, a pool of tears in her eyes. "There's no one who can stop Trigon. And how could I possibly be of help to you? My powers came from him, and now that he doesn't have a use for me, I don't have them anymore. There was a prophecy, and it came true. It's all over now."
Raven fell to her knees. I shifted to a seating position.
"It's true. Look around us; it's the end of the world. Everything has ended." I said. "But do you know what hasn't ended? The Teen Titans. We're still here, and we're still willing to fight. We've faced tons of situations like this before. This one just happened to succeed a little better than we planned. Your destiny of being Trigon's Portal might have been fulfilled, but the world's destiny is still to be determined. We can change it."
"How? There isn't any hope of fixing things." Raven said.
"There has to be some. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here. Whatever bit of hope or faith you might have left, I want you to hold onto that. If there ever comes a time when you feel like your faith is not enough, you can lean on ours until you can stand firm again."
Robin offered his hand to us. We stood up. I plucked the birdarangs from my belt.
"Thanks for letting me borrow these." I said, handing them to Robin. "Is the sword thing a new feature?"
Robin smiled and tucked the birdarangs away. "I wanted to be a part of the fun, so I asked Cyborg to tweak them for me. I just wish I was the one to test them out."
"Rest assured, it works beautifully. That's a fight I'm hoping is included in the new episode."
We climbed to the surface. Flashes of lightning danced across the sky, which was a nice change to the pure reds and blacks. I set Raven down, and we stepped onto the road.
"Any clue where the others are?" Robin said.
We heard the shriek of fire soldiers, followed by crashing. We looked down the road and saw Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy laying on the ground.
"Found them." I said.
The fire soldiers followed them. Robin threw a couple of explosive discs at the fire soldiers. They hit a couple and caused the rest of them to flee.
"Friends! You are unharmed." Starfire cried.
Raven peered out from behind me, her hand tightly gripping mine. Our friends gaped at her.
"Raven?" Cyborg said. "What happened to you?"
"Her powers are gone." I said.
"So she can't help us?" Beast Boy said. Raven bowed and shook her head.
"Then what are we to do?" Starfire said.
"One final attack." Robin said. He knelt and placed his hands on Raven's shoulders. "The prophecy you knew only went so far and told so much. Now that it's over, anything is possible. The future is now whatever you want it to be. It's time to create a new chapter."
The boulder we stood behind was ripped from the ground. We turned and looked up at Trigon, looming over us with a smile. My friends lunged.
"I have had enough of your pathetic antics." Red energy shot from Trigon's eyes and hit my friends, trapping them inside an orb of orange energy. "Your world has ended, and it is about time you do as well."
A figure leaped from behind Trigon. Slade, wielding a large, flaming, double-sided axe, swung. It sliced through one of Trigon's horns. Trigon roared as he clutched the stump on his head, dropping my friends and releasing them from the energy.
"Titans, go!"
I transformed my pistols into my bazooka and fired as quickly as my finger allowed me. Trigon struck the ground with his fist, and I jumped out of the way and onto a tall rock. I continued to fire at his feet. Starfire flew around Trigon's face, throwing starbolts at his cheeks and nose while dodging his eye lasers. Beast Boy transformed from a bird to a T-Rex and sunk his teeth into Trigon's ear, followed by Cyborg shooting a cannon ray into his chest. Robin threw a disc at Trigon's face, coating his eyes with ice. Trigon fell to his knees. Slade chucked his double-sided axe. The axe cut off the other horn. Clutching his head, Trigon stumbled back, one foot in the lava ocean.
"Enough!" Trigon roared. A column of red energy escaped from his eyes. I slunk behind a boulder as the energy hit the ground, causing it to rumble. When it ceased, I dared a glance.
My friends lay unconscious on the ground. Raven scurried from her hiding place and fell to her knees at Robin's side.
"Get up! Please, get up!" she cried, shaking his shoulder.
Trigon loomed over her. "Farewell, dear daughter." he said before firing another column of red energy.
"Raven!" I called.
Raven held her hands out as the energy fell on her, momentarily filling my vision with red. When it cleared, there was a dome of white energy hanging over her and Robin. The energy retracted into her hand, and she stared at it with wide eyes.
"How...?" she whispered.
"It seems like you managed to retain a morsel of my power. But you are still no match for me. I created you, and I can just as easily destroy you. What hope could a pathetic girl like you have against her all-powerful father?!" Trigon said.
Raven bowed her head for a moment, her eyes closed. When she opened them, they were pure white. She stood up, the light consuming her. When the light subsided, Raven stood as her regular self. He hair was as long as Starfire's, and her clothes were still white. White energy filled her hands.
"You were never my father. How dare you call yourself that. " Raven said. She thrust out her hands, shooting a thick ray of energy into Trigon. He cried out and stumbled back.
"You wretched, insignificant-!" Trigon cried, but was met with a face full of white energy.
"You were never my family. The monks of Azarath are my family. My friends are my family. They were the ones who protected me, who were kind to me, and who raised me into who I am now." Raven said. She floated high into the air. "This is my home, and you are not- nor will you ever be- welcome here!"
The gemstone on Raven's forehead glowed with white energy.
"Azarath, metrion, zinthos!"
A giant, white raven filled the area with a bright light. Trigon cried in agony as he dissipated into the light. A column of energy sprung up from where he stood, spreading out and consuming the area. Each spot touched by the energy was revived, filled again with the life that Trigon had originally claimed.
Raven descended back to the ground and lifted her eyes to us.
"Raven..." Starfire said.
"I can't believe you just did that." Cyborg said.
Raven smiled. "It wasn't hard." Raven turned and approached me. "I just used the faith I had to fight back."
She wrapped her arms around me. I reeled back in surprise.
"Thank you." she whispered.
I smiled and returned the hug.
"Okay! Wait a minute!" Beast Boy cried. He pointed a finger at Raven. "The white robes and smiling are already creepy enough, but now you're hugging people?!" Beast Boy leaned close into Raven's face. "Are you still, you know, you?"
"Blue is still my favorite color." Raven said. Her smile fell. "And don't get used to the smile, because you're still not funny."
Beast Boy gasped and wrapped his arms around Raven. "Welcome back!"
"Get off me."
There was a knock on my door.
"Come in." I called.
The door opened, and Raven stepped inside. She was back to the way she was before; something I definitely preferred.
"You haven't left yet?" she said.
"No. I'm kind of just waiting to go back to my world." I said.
"Well... While you're still here, there's something I want to show you."
"Okay..."
We stepped out of my room and walked side-by-side down the hallway.
"Can you give me any hints?" I said.
"Nope." Raven said, staring ahead. I rolled my eyes.
We stopped in front of the doors to Ops.
"Are you ready?" Raven said.
"Um... I guess..." I said.
With a smile, Raven opened the doors. We stepped inside.
"Surprise!" my friends shrieked as they leaped into the air. I reeled back as confetti fell around me, some of the small, colorful pieces of paper falling into my hair. A large banner hung in the center of the room, with sloppy, painted words. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CIELA." it read.
"What is all this?" I said breathlessly. My heart pounded from the sudden dose of adrenaline.
"You told me you've never had a good birthday before, but we won't be present for your next one." Raven said.
"Therefore, we decided to celebrate it right now!" Starfire said, holding a towering cake in her hands. "Happy early birthday, dear friend!"
"You... really did all this for me?" I said. Tears pricked my eyes, and one fell down my cheek.
"Ha! I told you she would cry!" Beast Boy said. He held out with hand to Cyborg, who handed him a five-dollar bill with a grumble.
I laughed as tears spilled down my cheeks. "I don't know what to say."
"You've already done so much for us. This is the least we could do." Robin said. "Just wait until we get your present hung up."
"Present?"
"Oh, yeah! You're gonna flip when you see it. Come on!" Beast Boy grabbed my wrist, and we all ran out of Ops and down to the front entrance room. Beast Boy gestured to one of the walls. "Ta-da!"
"A... wall?" I said.
"You remember the portrait that used to hang here?" Raven said.
"Yeah. I destroyed it." I chuckled. There was still a faint scorch mark on the wall from where I shot it back during season two's finale.
Starfire gripped my shoulders and turned me around, where there was a camera perched on top of a tripod.
"I think it's about time we put up a new one. This time, with the entire team." Robin said.
A bright smile curled on my lips.
"Perfect! Keep that!" Beast Boy said, looking at me through a rectangle he shaped with his hands. He pressed a button on the camera, and it began to tick. "Places, people! Thirty seconds and counting!"
My friends scrambled to their places around me. Cyborg and Starfire stood in the back row, Beast Boy struck a triumphant pose on one knee in the front row, and Raven and Robin stood on either side of me. Starfire rested her hands on my shoulders.
"Thank you for doing this. You don't know how much this means to me." I said. "I'm glad I have friends like you guys."
"We're glad you came here. You helped make this team better." Robin said.
"Now that everything's back to normal, there's a new future for this world. It's all because we decided to change it." Raven said. "And who knows? Maybe we will get to celebrate on your actual birthday."
"I don't know about that. That's stretching things a little too far." I said.
"I recall a certain blonde gunslinger telling me that the Teen Titans are capable of some pretty crazy things." Raven said. She side-glanced at me with a smirk. "I guess since my words aren't convincing you, you'll just have to see it for yourself when the time comes."
"Any second now!" Beast Boy cried. "Smile!"
I looked at the camera, confidence brimming inside of me instead of being stripped away. We smiled. The camera flashed. Beast Boy hurried over to the camera.
"Great work!" Beast Boy said with a thumbs up.
"All right!" Cyborg said, shaking off the pose he held. "I'll have that framed and put up by tomorrow. But right now, I need a nap."
I stepped behind the camera and looked at the picture. Our smiles were so bright, like the sky outside. Seeing it made me smile again. I noticed something about my appearance. I zoomed in on my Teen Titan necklace. I glanced down.
The top left quarter of my necklace was purple. I held my necklace with a smile.
Season four is finished.
My vision faded to black.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This story is flying by. I can't believe next chapter begins the final season. I'm so excited for season five and the movie. I have many ideas waiting to play out.
The theme for season four is YouTuber LeeandLie's English cover of "Startear" from the anime Sword Art Online.
Next chapter begins season five. I hope you're excited for what's to come!
