Well I wasn't expecting this chapter to be as long as the last, but turns out it's just barely even longer! Sorry for the delay, but this chapter's finally out now. It would've been up sooner but I had a retreat to go to the past few days. Enjoy!
Chapter XXIII - Purgatorio
The New Azarath Medical and Healing Facility was in a panic. Their rooms were long overfilled, and they had to extend themselves into several rooms in the Azarathean Palace. It wasn't long until the entire first and second floors were completely filled with patients. Several other places within the capital of Azarath were used as makeshift hospitals as well: the Grand Library, the Concert Hall, the training facilities, even Captain Etzel's small workshop. The amount of soldiers entering the hospitals was much greater than the amount leaving and the healers' supply of healing potions, elixirs, and phoenix feathers were rapidly depleting. The healers, themselves, began to grow very weary as well.
The battlefield was not so well either. The disappearance of Master General Raphael to pursue Trigon left the New Azarath Army under the command of Commander Azula. This changed little, however, as the arrival of the obsidian soldiers shifted the fight from a formal battle with relayed strategies and commands into chaotic, uncontrolled warfare. All of the strategies that they had planned out evaporated before their eyes and were replaced with one simple goal—to kill as many enemies as possible without being killed, yourself. Unfortunately, it was also the duty of the higher ranked soldiers to protect the lesser experienced ones who constituted the majority of the wounded. The number of casualties began rising with the appearance of the powerful obsidian soldiers, and many hundred joined Horatio in death.
High Captain Etzel fell to the ground, crying out in pain. Ignoring the blood that dripped from his leg, he aimed his crossbow upwards and blindly pulled the trigger. As a series of arrows shot out, the sound of an obsidian soldier falling dead onto the ground assured him that his arrows had found their mark. Quietly cursing under his breath, he ripped off the left sleeve of his shirt and wound it tightly around his injured leg. As he finished, he saw another obsidian soldier approaching him from the distance. Grunting, he lifted his crossbow and pulled the trigger, only to find that he was out of ammunition. Cursing again, he picked himself up and limped away as quickly as his injured leg could take him.
The obsidian soldier caught sight of the Azarathean and began chasing after him, longsword raised and poised for a lethal strike. As it advanced towards him, bolts of pink lightning flashed on the ground, which immediately crumbled underneath the obsidian soldier, who fell down and landed directly onto its sword, which pierced its neck and killed it. "Well gee, that was… unfortunate," a voice said.
Etzel turned around and examined his savior. "Who are you?" he asked.
A woman with short pink hair dressed in purple and black clothes approached. "I am the Mistress of Misfortune, the Bane of Bad Luck, the Princess of Probability Manipulation!" She gave a wink and added, "My name is Jinx. I'm a friend of Raven's."
"You—you're from Earth?" the captain gasped.
A blur of red and yellow whizzed past before circling back and stopping next to Jinx. "Righto!" the man said. He dashed forward and quickly helped Etzel up. "The name's Wally West," he spoke rapidly. "AKA the Flash, formerly known as Kid Flash, how are you today sir?" He swiftly dusted Etzel off and shook his hands. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Bad guys over there, gotta get 'em, bye!" He ran off in a flash towards a group of demons, knocking them aside as he sprinted through.
Jinx rolled her eyes. "Sorry about him, he's just a little… energetic." She extended her hands and shook Etzel's. "We're the Titans. We come from Earth. There were a couple Azarathean mages on Earth who were waiting for this guy named Raphael to come back. After he never came, one of them went to here and found out that a war was breaking out. He came back and told Nightwing that Azarath was in danger and needed help, so he contacted all the Titans on Earth. The Azarathean monks just created a portal here for us."
Etzel nodded his head. "I see… but you are all Earthlings. None of you are Azaratheans. Is it possible for non-Azaratheans to fight in a Sorcerer-Demon War?"
A man with flaming red and yellow skin in a dark red suit appeared. "No offense," Hot Spot said. "But if you guys lose this war of yours, then our world is destroyed, too. I dunno about you but I'd rather not leave my life completely in the hands of other people." He created a fireball in his hand and fired it at a nearby demon.
"Look, we're here to help," an African American woman in a bee suit and wings said to him with a smile.
Jinx turned to her. "Come on, Bumblebee. We got work to do."
Bumblebee nodded and turned behind her, crying out, "Titans, GO!"
Etzel nearly fell down as a great number of superheroes from Earth approached, some by foot, some by flight. They all gave him an encouraging smile or wink as they ran past and straight into battle. He gave a bewildered smirk. "Raven sure has a lot of friends…"
He turned towards a man who was sitting on a nearby bench eating popcorn. The man wore a full red and black bodysuit and had twin katanas on his back. "Aren't you…" Etzel asked the man as he pointed towards the Titans. "Aren't you with them?"
"Eh, kinda-sorta," the man replied. "Oh! Where are my manners. I'm Deadpool." He gave a simple wave.
"Okay… You aren't going to fight?"
Deadpool shrugged. "Why would I? I'm just here to watch the show."
Etzel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Well, aren't you concerned? After all, if we lose this war, you're going to die, too."
"Not exactly," Deadpool explained. "You see, I'm not from here. I'm from the Marvel universe, not DC Comics. Theoretically, if this entire universe was destroyed, nothing would happen to me. You see, what I'm doing right now is a little something called a crossover cameo."
"A what?"
"A crossover cameo," Deadpool said in a very matter-of-fact tone. "Y'know, crossover meaning when a character from one franchise enters another franchise. And cameo meaning a brief appearance of a well-known character or person in a work like a story, movie, or TV show, sometimes—like in my case—non-canonical and completely irrelevant to the plotline for no purpose other than to garner humorous attention. Ah!—look at me, breaking the fourth wall again. Damn!"
Etzel gave a bewildered look on his face. Deadpool sighed. "Look, enough about me. Don't you have a war to be fighting?" At this, the captain remembered his current situation and ran to get some more ammunition for his crossbow, still confused about the strange conversation he just had. He never met that strange man ever again.
Meanwhile, the Azaratheans were at first startled by the sight of the Earthling Titans, but immediately welcomed the arrival of reinforcements. A barrage of arrows from Arsenal—formerly known as Speedy of the Titans East—dispatched many demons while Flash swiftly knocked many aside as he sprinted through. Pantha tackled an obsidian soldier from behind and wrestled it, carefully avoiding its longsword and pinning it down long enough for Jericho to arrive and enter its body. A pair of green eyes blinked open on the obsidian soldier as it was possessed by Jericho. Bumblebee came up from behind him.
"What do you see, Jericho?" she called.
"I'm not sure," he replied. "The obsidian soldiers aren't fully sentient beings, more like puppets, so I can't access its memories. The only thing I can get is an image of Raven wearing a necklace."
"That necklace must be what's summoning and controlling all of these guys," Herald said as he approached them.
Bumblebee supported this. "Nightwing said that we'll have to hold them back as long as possible. A few hours ago, the hospital had begun the process of destroying Raven's body, but the machines kept malfunctioning as if they were pushed away by a powerful force."
"That means Trigon already anticipated all this. That means he's not letting anything stop him now."
"So we'll just have to hold these guys back until they manage to get the necklace off Raven," the obsidian soldier possessed by Jericho nodded. He raised his black longsword and walked towards a nearby obsidian soldier, ramming it into its chest.
"Be careful, Jericho!" Kole called. She turned around to face a large Neanderthal. "Gnarrk!" the woman yelled as she leapt into the air and transformed into crystal.
She was caught by the Neanderthal, who roared savagely, "Gnarrk!" before running around batting Kole's crystalline body. They were followed by Miss Martian, who telekinetically levitated the surrounding demons into the air, making them easy targets for the Azaratheans and Titans who shot them all down with their arrows. She was attacked from behind by a minotaur-shaped demon, who rammed her with its head, snatched her by the throat and flung her mercilessly into the air.
"Megan!" a voice called as Miss Martian was caught in the air by Superboy, who brought her to the ground safely. Turning towards the minotaur demon, he blasted it with his heat vision, incinerating it into dust.
"Thanks, Kon-El," the young woman thanked. He nodded a smile and flew into the air. She readied herself as Wildebeest rushed by with Argent riding on his shoulders. As Wildebeest leapt into the air, Argent created crimson energy platforms in the air for him to land on, bringing him higher and higher into the sky until he fell downwards with both hands raised, smashing his arms roughly onto an obsidian soldier that crumbled down from the force. Argent then turned to face another obsidian soldier, using her powers to enclose it in a sphere. "Hot Shot!" she called, who came up behind her and shot a stream of flames onto the sphere. The obsidian soldier roared in pain before it exploded from the heat.
Aqualad—now known as Tempest—positioned himself next to a fountain and manipulated the water to form a wave to crash onto nearby demons. The demons, dripping with water, were then electrocuted by Static and Killowat. Wonder Girl—now known as Donna Troy—came up from behind him, flipping her Lasso of Persuasion in the air and whipping aside the demons, who were finished off by the Azarathean soldiers. "Donna!" she heard a man cry as she was suddenly pushed aside. Turning around, she saw Atom being knocked into the air by an obsidian soldier, who had snuck up behind her. Atom began flew into the air from the force of the attack but manipulated his mass to glide and slowly land on the ground without a scratch. The new Robin—Damien Wayne—and Bushido stepped forth and attacked the obsidian soldier in a barrage of martial arts.
The sound of screams from the Azarathean soldiers resounded through the air as a demon in the form of a great basilisk emerged from the ground. The beast roared and hissed as it engulfed one of the Azaratheans, its mouth dripping with blood as it deliciously munched on the unfortunate mage. Some more mages approached the basilisk demon and cast various spells on it, which did not seem to do much damage. Red Star sprinted towards it and leapt onto the base of the demon's neck in an attempt to subdue it. "Down, foul snake creature!" he yelled as he doubled his grip on the demon, who swung its neck to and fro until the Russian lost his grip and fell onto the ground.
A blur of white appeared before the basilisk demon as twin young men mockingly waved at the beast before dashing off. Before the demon knew what was happening, its head was knocked on the side, followed by the quickly giggles of Más y Menos. As they raced by a second time, they were abruptly stopped and caught by the demon's long whiskers. Raised towards the basilisk's eyes, teeth, and fangs, the two brothers looked at each other. Menos turned towards the basilisk and cheekily greeted with a nervous smile, "Jaja… Hola."
A blast of light energy pierced through the basilisk demon's whiskers, releasing the pair. Solstice winked playfully at them as they thanked her for saving them. She then concentrated her light energy and fired another blast, this time directly at the beast's forehead. It was hurt distracted long enough for the Azarathean mages to magically paralyze it momentarily. A young teenage girl riding a giant teddy bear approached them. "Go, Bobby!" Melvin cried as her teddy bear stopped and leaned against side of the the paralyzed basilisk, acting as a ladder for Azarathean soldiers to climb onto the basilisk's backside. As the soldiers thrust their swords into the demon's hard scaled back, Timmy Tantrum and Teether were busy crying sonic blasts and launching nearby rubble at the basilisk, respectively. Back in front of the demon, Solstice's light blasts were interrupted as she was slashed from the side by the longsword of an obsidian soldier. Crying in pain as she fell to the ground, the Indian girl watched as the soldier raised its sword in the air. "Oh no, you don't," she heard a man say as Blue Beetle appeared by her side, knocking the obsidian soldier back with a discharge of electromagnetic energy. An Azarathean healer immediately rushed over and waved her hands over Solstice's deep cut, chanting some incantations as the wound began to magically heal.
"Aside!" Commander Azula bellowed as he rushed forward wielding his spear and broadsword. Darting directly towards the basilisk demon, he muttered some enchantments, causing his two weapons to glow in silver light: "Ciro Enyawd Vasarix…" he roared as he stomped his foot into the ground before the basilisk demon. "Zinthos Metrion Azarath!" He leapt into the air, spear and sword raised, and—with one swift movement—pierced them into the eyes of the demon. The basilisk demon snarled and howled in pain, even more so as the Azarathean commander pushed his weapons even further down the demon's eye sockets. As his shoes became wet with the demon's blood, Azula spat onto the now dead demon.
Before anyone could cheer, however, an even greater and more vicious roar echoed in the skies. Everyone turned as a great shadow eclipsed the city. A great and powerful dragon demon black as night and crimson as blood emerged from the void underneath the floating world. It spread its colossal wings, nearly eclipsing the entire world. The dragon demon roared once more, shaking the city. Commander Azula looked around. His soldiers, even the Titans from Earth, all appeared to cower in the sight of the dragon. "Look alive, men!" he called out. "We will not die cowards today!" Removing his spear and sword from the dead basilisk demon's eye sockets, he mumbled under his breath, "May Azar be with us," before giving a mighty battle cry and running towards the great dragon demon.
…
Raphael felt the shadows unwrap themselves from his body as he stepped from the portal and into the safe room underneath the Virgil Medical Hospital. In the far corner were two beds enjoined together, on which Garfield and Raven lay asleep. In the center of the room was Dark Raven, still wielding four of the Weapons. Surrounding her were the Titans, each in a battle position.
"Raphael, who's this?" Nightwing said.
"Trigon," Raphael answered. Dark Raven smiled, and with a wave of her hand, shadows leapt from the ground and wrapped themselves around the three Titans, trapping them in place.
"I have the weapons!" Raphael said to them. "But so does she…"
"Raphael, is that not the Ring of Azar on your finger?" Starfire asked, remembering that she and her friends had used that very ring in the first fight against Trigon years earlier. "Why are we still susceptible to Trigon's attacks?"
Dark Raven shook her head. "The Ring of Azar that Slade had given you ten years ago was a mere replica forged by me. This Ring of Azar will protect you, but it cannot work against the power of its brother and sister Weapons." She brought her hands to the Stellar Crown, whose three rubies began to glow. "Arise, Weapon of Leon," she cried out. "Show these mortals your true power!" Three glimmers of red light emerged from rubies and into the air, spun around themselves, and flew onto each of the three Titans.
"No!" Raphael called out. But it was too late. Nightwing, Starfire, and Cyborg stood up, released from the shadows that trapped them, and slowly turned to face Raphael. They raised their weapons. Dark Raven stood behind them smiling greedily and glanced up at a clock on the wall that read 11:58 PM.
"The time has come for the Second Coming. The world beckons for my rebirth." Dark Raven turned around and slowly began to walk towards Raven's comatose body.
"No!" Raphael yelled.
The three Titans approached him. "Give us the Weapons," they ordered as they crept closer. "Give us the Weapons, Raphael." Cyborg came towards Raphael and swiftly grabbed his arm. Instantly, the Ring of Azar on Raphael's finger glowed like a warning signal and the possessed Cyborg leapt back howling in pain. "It burns!" he cried aloud.
"Get back here, Trigon!" Raphael called as he pushed the Titans away and started towards Dark Raven. He was struck from behind by Nightwing's bo staff and fell to the ground. Jumping back up to his feet, he summoned the Book of Peace to his hands. He knew he couldn't use the Crystal Sword on them—he would risk injuring or even killing his own friends. Instead, he closed his eyes and opened the book. Raphael's mind illuminated in a vision, in which he saw for a split second the Titans' upcoming attacks in slow motion. He saw Starfire firing a starbolt at him from the right while Cyborg readies his sonic cannon from the left. Afterwards, Nightwing will throw three birdarangs at him in a vertical line while Starfire will fire a stream of energy from her eyes.
Raphael opened his eyes. Now knowing the Titans' moves, he was prepared. He leapt backwards and a little to the side to simultaneously dodge the starbolt and sonic blast. Unsheathing the Crystal Sword, he used it to deflect Starfire's eye beam, which then struck Cyborg, knocking him onto a wall. As three birdarangs flew towards him, he lifted the Book of Peace, which stopped the birdarangs in mid-air and redirected them backwards, two striking Nightwing's ankles and one cutting Starfire's left shoulder. This was enough to distract them long enough for Raphael to turn around and rush towards Dark Raven. Lifting the Crystal Sword, he struck the Stellar Crown. He was immediately launched backwards by a force and his back hit the ground.
Raphael looked back and saw that the Titans were knocked out, but no longer under Trigon's control. He turned back towards Dark Raven, who was left unfazed. As the clock struck midnight—the mark of the seventy-second day after Raven's twenty-sixth birthday, exactly ten years since Trigon's first uprising—Dark Raven telekinetically levitated Raven's unconscious body into the air, her arms outstretched and her head bent backwards. An aura of darkness emanated from her body. Dark Raven hissed in a demonic voice:
"To destroy all life and the children of Men
To rule on his rightful throne of sin
To begin the reign of death that shall never end
The Dark Lord is born again!"
Dark Raven's became engulfed in smoke that riffled in a cloud that vaguely took the form of a raven. The four Weapons in her possession dropped onto the ground as the smoky raven slowly flapped its wings and ascended towards Raven's levitated body. The smoke merged with the dark aura that surrounded her and coalesced around her until it entered her body. The white hospital clothes she had been wearing since Sanctuary rapidly aged, tore, and withered to dust, falling off her body. The darkness surrounding her wrapped themselves onto her body, transfiguring into her own dark blue leotard and cloak. As Raven softly descended onto the ground, four scarlet eyes glowed from underneath her hood.
"At long last," she breathed, her voice dually echoing with hers and Trigon's. "I AM." She bent down and, one by one, picked up her precious Weapons. "My Master Cloak," she whispered as she wrapped herself in the black cloak. "My Stellar Crown," she whispered as she meticulously placed the diadem on her head. "My Lunar Pandora," she whispered as she adorned the pendant around her neck. "My Solar Wand," she whispered as she clasped her pale fingers on the wand. She took in a deep breath, slowly letting the air fill her lungs before gently exhaling. She turned to Raphael, who had picked himself up. "I believe you have some things that belong to me. I see my Ring of Azar on your finger. I see my Crystal Sword in your hand. I see my Book of Peace in your grasp."
Raphael stood up straight, wearily, and pointed the blade in her direction. "Claim it for yourself, Trigon."
Raven bowed her head. "Now in Raven's mind, the Father is fighting the human named Garfield Logan. Now in Azarath, the Demonic Spirits have coalesced into an apocalyptic dragon to fight the sorcerers. Now, it is our turn. The time has come for the Daughter to fight once and for all my greatest foe, the victor of the First Sorcerer-Demon War." She pointed the Solar Wand directly at Raphael. "Today we duel, son of Mankind. Today we clash, son of Mortals. Today you will fall, son of Leon!"
Raphael's grip on his sword tightened as he heard her utter the name of one of the Three Magi. "What did you say?" he asked.
Raven looked at him in a gaze of amusement. "You mean to say you have come all this way and still you understand nothing?" From the corner of her eye, she saw the three Titans begin to stir. "Silence!" she snapped as she waved the wand, casting a binding spell on them to constrict them in place. She turned back towards the Azarathean. "Haven't you ever wondered why you so greatly fell in love with Raven the moment you met her? Haven't you ever wondered why Azar allowed you—a mere peasant farmer's boy—to live in the grand capital of Azarath when your parents died? Haven't you ever wondered why as a boy, you've always been the best in magic dueling? Haven't you ever wondered why you were the youngest officer and youngest lieutenant ever to be appointed in Azarathean history? Almost as if Azar wanted to keep you closer and closer inside the capital where you would be safe? Haven't you ever wondered why I—through Malcolm Crowe—tried to have you killed five years ago when you came to Earth the second time? Didn't you wonder why the Chamber of Leon opened itself just as you commanded it to? Didn't you wonder why the Weapons of Leon called out to you and you alone? Didn't you wonder why you were chosen out of all the people to lead the army of the sorcerers? Don't you wonder why that sword in your hand right now seems to fit perfectly in your hand as if you were born to wield it?"
Raphael took a step back in dismay, almost afraid to comprehend what Raven was saying. His widened eyes trailed away and rested downwards onto the Crystal Sword in his hand. On the hilt of the blade was an engraving of Leon's face. Was it true? Was he really an Inheritor of the great Sorcerer Leon? He gently rubbed on the engraving with his thumb, feeling the minute contours of the intricately detailed face—his ancestor's face. The crystalline blade seemed to shimmer with his touch.
"Do you still not believe?" Raven taunted.
Raphael took a deep breath and slowly shook his head. "I don't know what to believe," he admitted. "But one thing's for sure: nothing will change the fact that I'm stopping you no matter what, Trigon."
At this, Raven smiled and raised her wand maliciously. "Then," she declared. "Let us fight, Leon. I've waited an eternity to repay the one who had succeeded in defeating me thousands of years ago." She waved her wand at Raphael, casting a bolt of dark lightning at him, which he deflected away with his sword. Twice more she shot lightning bolts at him, which he also deflected with little difficulty. The Lunar Pandora around her neck glowed an intense blue as a cloud of smoke appeared in the air, solidifying to form an obsidian soldier. It raised its longsword and struck Raphael's shoulder. The Ring of Azar momentarily surrounded him in a yellow aura, which protected him from the longsword, and he gripped the Crystal Sword and swiftly destroyed the obsidian soldier in one blow. It was knocked aside into rubble of obsidian.
He was taken by surprise by a spell that struck the side of his chest and sent him flying into the air. He cried out in pain as he crashed onto the ground. "What?" he said. "How did you—?"
Raven merely raised her wand once more. "The Ring of Azar protects you from harm, that is true. However, it bears no resistance against its own brother Weapon. My Solar Wand can nullify through any protection the ring grants you."
"Then that means the Crystal Sword can pierce through the Master Cloak you're wearing, too," Raphael grunted as he jumped to his feet and ran towards Raven with the sword poised for a strike. With another flick of the Solar Wand, Raven immersed some chunks of obsidian rubble in black energy and levitated them. They flew in the air and struck Raphael's head, knocking off his helmet. The Azarathean ignored it and continued rushing towards Raven, leaping into the air with his sword raised. The Solar Wand waved in front of him and he let out a gasp as he was caught in mid-air, levitated and trapped by dark energy. Raven smiled as she pointed the wand towards a wall, directing Raphael and sending him crashing into a wall. She pointed at another wall and he was carried across the room and was knocked painfully against that wall as well. He was then raised towards the center of the ceiling and was thrashed onto the ground.
Raphael licked his lips and tasted fresh blood. He stood up and suddenly found himself constricted by a strong force. "Interesting armor," Raven said, as she examined his gold and white Azarathean armor. "Made of mythril and orichalcum, am I correct? The strongest metals of Azarath. Pity…" She slashed the air in front of her with her wand, magically controlling Raphael's plates of armor. He felt his armor tightening themselves against his body.
"Ah!" he cried aloud as he realized that he was about to be crushed by his own armor. Left with no other choice, he brought his sword down onto his left leg, causing a visible crack in the armor. Once again he struck his left leg armor with the Crystal Sword, this time causing it to shatter and fall to pieces off his leg. He repeated this process with his right leg, trying his best to ignore the tightening feeling on his chest. With difficulty, he struck his chest plate armor, which was much harder to break than the leg pieces. After a few blows, it also was cracked enough for him to tear it off with his own hands. He was able to easily remove his arm pieces now that the chest piece—which was connected to them—was broken off. Now the only thing left to protect him was some chainmail—which had been unaffected by Raven's spell—and the Ring of Azar.
Raven pointed the wand at the broken pieces of armor that lay on the ground, surrounding them with a black aura. They burst to life and flew into the air, scratching Raphael's exposed face and arms until several cuts and gashes appeared. Shielding his eyes from the fragments of armor, he extended his left hand and summoned the Book of Peace, which reappeared in a flash of light. "Enough!" he shouted as the book flipped open and its pages illuminated. The shards of armor stopped in mid-air and redirected themselves towards Raven. She covered herself with the Master Cloak, but was struck by the large chest piece and helmet.
Raphael took this moment to rush in towards her, raising his sword and poised for a strike. Raven quickly muttered an incantation and a surge of dark energy flowed from her arms and through the Solar Wand, extending from the wand and forming a sword of sorts. With this magic ethereal blade, she blocked and parried Raphael's Crystal Sword. The Azarathean was caught off guard but quickly readied himself again. Raven smiled and raised her wand sword in one hand while the other cast an orb of dark magic. Raphael blew out a breath of air and raised his own sword with both hands to the side of his head.
"So this is what it's come to, Raven," he said under his breath. "After all these years, our last Magic Duel."
Raven fired the magic orb at Raphael, which he slashed with his own sword. He spun around and pointed his sword, which gathered energy and shot out a blast of light. Raven created a solid construct of a wall before her to shield her and then sent the construct flying towards the man, who cut it neatly in two with his sword. The two rushed at each other and their swords clashed with one another. Dick, Starfire, and Victor—held down to the ground by Trigon's magic—could do nothing but watch as the two figures rushed at each other with amazing speed and coordination as blades swung and slashed through the air. The Earthlings were amazed at the impressive agility of both Raphael and Raven as every attack seemed too swift to avoid, and yet each were able to evade or block each other's attacks as easily as if they were swatting a fly. They each waited in deep anticipation for the sound of sword striking skin, of a cry of pain or a drop of blood, but none came and only the sounds of blades striking one another or slashing thin air filled the room, with the occasional magic spell firing across from one combatant to the other.
"Why do you cling so dearly to life, Leon? Your 'precious' life which is so meaningless in the end." Raven shouted as she cast a fire spell at him, which he deflected with the Crystal Sword. "Why do you live so dearly with your friends and families? Those who live on so easily after you die!" She swung at him with her wand sword but missed. "Everything you've done will be lost forever, faded to oblivion!"
"It's true, Trigon," Raphael replied. "It's true that my life may be meaningless to the world after I die. It's true that my friends—Captain Etzel, Horatio, Lancelang, Raven, Dick, Starfire, Victor, even Garfield—it's true that maybe they will be able to live on after my death. But you know what? It doesn't matter to me. When I die, it won't matter how wealthy I was or how famous I was. When I die, it won't matter how nicely I've lived or how well I've been treated. I may not have made a difference in the world, but I have made a difference in the lives of others, and to them, that made all the difference in the world." Raphael stood his ground and lowered his sword.
Raven growled through gritted teeth. "Foolish mortal! Die!" she hissed as the ethereal blade protruding from the Solar Wand disappeared. "I shall make you the first of many victims of the spell I crafted with my own magic: my own Death Curse. I shall once again reawaken the Dark Magic that had massacred the mortals during the First Sorcerer-Demon War thousands of years past. And you, Son of Leon, will face the true wrath of Hell!" She raised her wand towards Raphael and hissed an incantation that he had never heard before, an incantation of the purest Dark Magic. "Ruz aanvorey siin genun ko gosvern ahrk enmindok, lot sahqo dovah having zos klov ahrk men zahk, ahrk nau ok klov lost zos diadema. Ahrk ok wahrok varrida hond siid do fil do gosvern ahrk threw niin wah gol. Ahrk dovah kriist us miil wo lost do wah ofan kiindah, ful tol fod rek deu kiindah rok uld du ek kiir." An aura of darkness emanated from her cloak as if death itself was emerging from her body. Her eyes grew black and her skin a deathly pale. A great wind raged from her as pure raw energy radiated from her. Her shadow grew and materialized in the air as a massive raven black as death with six blood red eyes, six demonic wings, and six jagged talons. Raphael took a step back in fear, remembering that even though he was wearing the Ring of Azar, he could not be protected from a spell cast by another Weapon, the Solar Wand. Trigon's voice pierced the air: "Sohtzin Noirtem Htaraza!"
There was a flash of blinding crimson and black light that illuminated every corner of the room, and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air. The Death Curse surged and reverberated throughout Raven's body before bursting from the Solar Wand and blasting towards Raphael, who struggled to vainly defend himself with his sword. The curse struck his body and he felt death's cold touch all throughout his body. "No!" he heard Starfire scream, but he was too afraid to open his tightly shut eyes. He felt death fill his lungs like smoke, and he coughed. Surprised to hear himself cough, Raphael opened his eyes, and found himself surrounded by a cloud of darkness as if the Death Curse had merely exploded in his face. He nearly jumped, but found himself nearly paralyzed as he saw with his own eyes the face of Death. But then the face turned away from him as the Solar Wand shook in Raven's hands. The darkness pulled away and instead rebounded back towards Raven, knocking her into the air until she hit the other side of the wall near the two hospital beds. As she fell to the ground, she hit the side of the bed that Garfield's comatose body was lying on, causing it to fall to the ground next to her.
"Wh—what just happened?" Victor whispered from the other side of the room. "Trigon just did some kind of death spell right? How come Raphael's still alive? Did the Ring of Azar protect him?"
"No," Dick understood. "Remember what Trigon said earlier? Raphael is the Leon's Inheritor. And since Leon was the one who made the Weapons with his own life force, that makes Raphael the master of the Weapons. Trigon cast his Death Curse onto Raphael through the Solar Wand, but the wand can't turn on its own master, so it rebounded the spell back towards himself."
"Then is Raven alright?" Starfire asked.
As the three Titans watched Raven slowly struggle to get up, Dick answered, "The Master Cloak protects her from death, so she's fine. But I bet Trigon's really injured."
Victor nodded. "Death or no death, that spell looked like it was really powerful. Even if it didn't kill her, it must have hurt her a lot."
"So they're at an impasse now," Dick continued. "Raphael's too strong that the only way Trigon can kill him is through his Death Curse. If he casts it through the Solar Wand, then it would only rebound back, but the Master Cloak protects him from dying. If he casts it without the wand, the Ring of Azar would still protect Raphael."
After he reassured himself that he was still alive and saw that Raven was momentarily stunned from her rebounded curse, Raphael materialized the Book of Peace onto his hands once more. "Show me New Azarath," he commanded it. The book flipped itself to a page where he saw a moving illustration of the New Azarath Army and the Titans fighting against a colossal dragon demon. He then recalled Trigon's words of Garfield fighting him within Raven's mind. Raphael then waved his free hand over the book and said, "Show me Garfield Logan." The moving illustration whitened out and shifted, now depicting a Hell-like throne room where a man bearing the resemblance of Rift was beating a very badly wounded Garfield. "No!" Raphael said. "Garfield! I have to go in there and help him."
He shut the book and slowly approached Raven, who fell onto her back after an attempt to stand up. The blade of his sword came to her face. "What are you planning to do?" she said, almost tauntingly. "Enter my mind? I am even more powerful in my throne of Hell than I am in the mortal world. Kill me? You wouldn't dare hurt my precious daughter. Face it, Son of Leon: there is nothing you can do now."
Raphael furrowed his eyebrows and grunted. "You're right," he accepted. "There is nothing I can do." He tossed the Crystal Sword to the side. With each short clang as the blade hit the floor, Raven raised her hand in horror, as if calling out, "My sword…!" He ignored this and knelt down until he met her face to face. "Only you can end this."
She snickered. "And why would I choose to end my reign? My rightful reign?"
The man shook his head. "Not you, Trigon. You are a broken soul, a heart of darkness… beyond help. I am talking to Raven."
The woman lying on the ground spit in his face. "Raven is gone, you ignorant fool. She is dead."
"No, I know you're in there, Raven," Raphael pressed on. "I can't do anything now. You have to do this for yourself. I can't protect you anymore. You have to fight. Give up, and you lose. Lose, and you die. And we'll all die. But fight… Fight, and you'll win. Win, and you'll live!"
"You do not understand anything, Leon," Raven croaked weakly. "Nothing can stop me. One day I may fall, I may be defeated, I may even be destroyed, but the forces that empower me shall never fall. I am paradoxically both a master and a servant of the darkness that I come from. Destruction… sadness… anger… hatred… pain… these are forces that no mortal can ever destroy. They have all existed since the beginning of time and will all continue to exist until the end of time." Raven's eyes looked up towards Raphael's. He saw that her eyes were red, not from Trigon's control but as if they were bloodshot. "Don't you understand? Every birth ultimately ends with death. Every monument, tower, and home eventually come crashing down. Civilizations grow, rulers rise, people prosper, only for it all to one day fall into the ground. And history inevitably repeats itself. Friendships end, mentors and parents leave or are left, lovers part. Remember the words that prophesize your fate: 'By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'"
Raphael took Raven's hand and caressed it. "No, listen to me, Raven. That's not true. You know it's not!"
Raven bit her lip as a tear emerged from her eyes. "Raphael…" she said.
The man nearly jumped at the sound of Raven's voice, not possessed by Trigon. "Raven, listen to me. Listen!"
But she could not hear his voice, for her mind was suddenly filled with a series of visions, memories of her painful life. She saw a vision of the battle in New Azarath; she saw the houses and towers of her home being destroyed; she saw her friends both from Azarath and from Earth being hurt, injured, killed; she saw a vision of Raphael being struck dead by Trigon's Death Curse; she saw Gar being beaten nearly to death by Trigon's spirit; she saw Gar sacrificing himself for her by drinking the body-switching potion for the last time; she saw herself in Sanctuary, crying uncontrollably; she saw herself writing the letter to Gar just before she ran away; she saw herself lying in a crying Gar's arms inside his bathroom begging him to forgive himself; she saw Malcolm Crowe crying aloud in his burning home for Anna to forgive him; she saw memories of her when she was living alone in a rundown apartment in Nadir; she saw herself running away from her friends the first time; she saw herself crying and screaming at Gar as they broke up; she saw herself in Malcolm's bed, clutching the sheets; she saw a vision of Slade dying at the hands of Rift; she saw a vision of both Steven Dayton and Rita Farr dying; she saw Gar mourn for them at their funerals; she saw herself letting go of Gar's lucky penny just as she was to become her father's gem and portal; she saw Malcolm crying as he stared at Anna's unused wedding dress; she saw Anna sobbing inside a hospital, though she could not make out the words; she saw her friends mourning over Terra's statue; she saw her friends being betrayed by Terra; she saw herself being deceived by Malchior; she saw herself leaving Azarath, her home of fourteen years; she saw herself watching her mother's shadow from afar, having never felt a single breadth of love from her; she saw a vision of her own conception at the hands of Trigon and her mother.
Trigon's voice echoed in a whisper inside her mind: "Destruction… sadness… anger… hatred… pain… these are forces that no mortal can ever destroy. They have all existed since the beginning of time and will all continue to exist until the end of time. Sadness, anger, and hatred are the only absolute."
"No…" Raven choked. "You're wrong." She felt Raphael's hands grip hers tightly. "There is so much more to life than sadness, anger, or hatred." Raphael's eyes widened as he heard not just Raven's voice but Garfield's as well. "You will never know… or understand what it means… to love… to live. You will never know compassion or friendship…" Raven saw a memory of her and her friends laughing together as they celebrated her twenty-sixth birthday. "You, Trigon, will never know what it means to have others there by your side." She remembered being rescued by Robin during Trigon's attack on Earth ten years ago. "You, Trigon, will never know what it means to have people who are kind to you and care for you." She remembered Starfire, her best friend, meditating with her, talking with her, shopping with her, times that although Raven had claimed to be annoyed, she truly enjoyed. "You, Trigon, will never know what it means to have people you can die for, people who you never want to live without." She remembered fixing Cyborg's car with him, and giving him a broad smile as they finished the job. "You, Trigon, will never know what it means to love. To live. To cry. To laugh. To be angry. To forgive. To be happy." She remembered Gar, dancing with him and his gentle touch both in his room filled with message pills and in the Crowe mansion in their youth. She remembered passionately kissing him underneath the two moons of New Azarath. She remembered lying with him in the park on their three-year anniversary. She remembered hugging him in New Azarath after their success in stopping the Council from unleashing the Weapons. She remembered telepathically wishing him goodnight after their first battle with Rift, a time that seemed so long ago. "You, Trigon, will never understand any of that, and I pity you," Raven said. She saw a vision of Malcolm and Anna Crowe in each other's arms as they posed for their wedding photo. She saw a vision of herself as a newborn baby, held in the arms of her mother, Arella. "I pity you. I pity you that you will never understand what love means!"
With these words, she screamed with all her might as a blurry figure seemed to resonate from and was expelled from her body. A transient projection of Trigon's spirit emerged, connected to Raven's body by ethereal threads of magic. Raphael fell back in horror as he saw Trigon in his true form for the first time with his own eyes—a horrendous demon lord with flowing white hair, red skin, four crimson eyes, and two long horns protruding from his head. A roar resounded from Trigon, which shook the room like an earthquake. "No! I will not be defeated!" he cried aloud. "I am the rightful ruler! I am the most sacred and the most beautiful!"
The spirit of Trigon reached down and swiped up the Crystal Sword, holding it in his hands. "My precious…" he hissed. "I am the master of death, destroyer of life, the dark lord of all! And I will erase all that is good and just with one swipe of my Crystal Sword. I am the Master of the Weapons!"
Raphael looked at Trigon, then at Raven, then back at Trigon, then at the ethereal threads connecting them. "No," Raphael declared as he raised his hands. "I am." In a flash of light, the Crystal Sword disappeared from Trigon's hands and returned to its rightful master, and with one swipe, Raphael cut the ethereal threads that connected Raven and Trigon.
Trigon shrieked in pain as all of his control over Raven's body was lost and the links that bound him to her were destroyed. "What have you done?!" his horrified voice squawked. "You shall—pay—for this… I—cannot be defeated now. I—refuse—to go alone. You shall join me in the deepest depths of death—of Hell!" The spirit of Trigon raised his hands and began the incantation of his Death Curse once more. Columns of darkness sprouted from the ground around him as Raphael could almost smell and feel the approaching presence of death. He shielded Raven and Garfield with his body. Trigon's voice cried out weakly, "I refuse to renounce my proper reign as ruler of the skies and the earth. I refuse to let Mankind take away what has rightfully belonged to me since before the beginning of time. I refuse to be just a memory!"
Raphael stretched his arms outward to his sides, his body forming a cross shape. "I refuse to let you destroy life any longer." With this, he closed his eyes.
Trigon's voice echoed through the air: "Sohtniz Noirtem Htaraza!"
A flash of black light illuminated the entire room and found its target. Raphael's body was limply knocked aside.
"No!" Starfire screamed with all her might. "No! Raphael!"
"Star, calm down," her husband reassured her. "He has the Ring of Azar, remember? He's protected. He's safe. He was just using his body as a shield to protect Raven and Gar."
This time, they heard Raven's voice, weak yet powerful at the same time: "AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!" And then the three Titans watched as Trigon's spirit silently transfigured into lifeless dust, ash, and smoke, and disappeared forever.
The magical binds that had trapped the three Titans disappeared, and they immediately rushed over to Raphael, Raven, and Gar—the latter two they found with their hands intertwined.
In the world of New Azarath, the demon dragon was about to crush Commander Azula with its talons when it suddenly let go of the man. As the Commander landed on the ground, he looked up to see the dragon fly into the air writhing in pain until it outstretched its wings, eclipsing the skies, and disappeared in a gust of smoke that was spirited away with the wind. The solar eclipse that had shrouded the world in a dusk-like state disappeared, and the sun's warmth and light touched New Azarath again for the first time in three hours.
On Earth, within Virgil Medical Hospital, the curtains on the windows of Malcolm Crowe's hospital room tore in two, and as the soft radiance of the moon touched his hand, his eyes slowly opened. Malcolm breathed in his first breath of life.
…
Garfield became aware of a strange feeling of buoyancy throughout his body, a sensation of floating. He opened his eyes and found everything to be blurry, with the only visible object being an indistinct light. It was when he opened his mouth and felt water rushing in that he realized he was underwater. He attempted to shift into a fish but found that he could not, and instead gathered whatever energy he had and swam upwards towards the light.
It was the moon, he saw as he reached the surface of the water and was washed up on shore. As he panted and struggled to regain his breath, the first thing he became aware of was that he was completely naked. Shuddering, the second thing he became aware of was that his body was completely healed; no longer did he bear any of the injuries he received from Trigon earlier. As he absentmindedly wished that he was wearing clothes, the third thing he became aware of was that clothes magically appeared on his body.
"Where am I?" he wondered aloud as he examined his surroundings. He saw that he had just been washed up from what seemed like an endless sea and onto what seemed like a great dark forest. It was nighttime, and the only source of light was the moon above. There were no stars. Gar called out Raven's name, but received no sign of any life around him. Left with no other option, he wandered into the forest. There, he travelled for a distance he could not remember, but eventually he came to a stop as he felt the strange prickly sensation that he was being followed and being watched.
Quickly he spun around. "Who's there?" No answer. Cautiously, Gar turned around to continue his trek and saw in the corner of his eye a certain movement on the ground of the forest. He slowly backed away from the movement, but tripped and fell onto the ground. It was then that he saw the creature that had been following him—a dark serpent with glowing red eyes. The serpent slithered towards him, hissing in the night air, and raised its head, poised for a deadly strike.
Then it was caught off guard as two strong hands wrapped themselves around the serpent's midsection. A foot held the creature's neck to the ground. "Quick, Garfield," a man's voice called out. "Kill it!" Gar snapped out of his paralyzed trance and searched for a rock nearby. Grabbing a large enough rock, he raised it into the air and smashed it onto the serpent's head. A cry rang in the air, one of pain, sadness, and bitter hatred: "Ego sum filius honorabilis… Tu, ad vitium creaturae; Et incurventur ante te fuit?... Quam ob rem, Pater! Cur non et mihi!" It fell dead.
The other man let go of its lifeless body, walked over and extended a hand to Gar. "You okay?" Gar took the man's hand and stood up. He immediately recognized the other man's face under the light of the moon. "Raphael?" he said. The other man answered with a smile. "What are you doing here? Where are we, for that matter?"
Raphael looked around. "We have many names for this place. Some of the romantics in New Azarath called it the Land of In Between. Pragmatists and intellectuals call it by its historical and arguably more "correct" name: Purgatory. Most of us call it by its more common name: the Phantom Forest."
"Phantom Forest?" Gar repeated. "Are… are we dead?"
Raphael chuckled. "No, you're not dead. You and I are just here because we have some unfinished business. You are here to complete the prophecy and find Raven. And I am here to help you and guide you."
"Complete the prophecy? What are you talking about?"
"I'll explain more on the way." He looked down and gazed at the dead serpent. "It's pitiful, isn't it? How such a powerful and destructive menace became so low a creature."
Gar followed Raphael's gaze and found to his surprise that the serpent's body was gone. A small distance away, he made out the distinct image of a serpent slithering weakly away. "It's still alive?" he gasped.
"Leave it," Raphael replied. "He can never die, nor can he ever live."
Gar stared at the fleeing serpent until he lost sight of it. "Was that—Trigon?"
The other man nodded. "What's left of him. Trigon never was able to understand the meaning of life, or why humans like us had to exist. He tried so hard to bring death to all of us that, in the end, he would forever be condemned to the very Life he sought to destroy. Now he will never be able to go on to the afterlife. It was life that he feared the most, life that he sought to destroy, and ultimately to life he shall be forever punished." Raphael turned to Gar. "Come, we have some business to take care of." He led the changeling down a path in the Phantom Forest.
"Wait, how do I know I can trust you?" Gar asked warily. "Last time I saw you, you turned out to be an illusion made by Trigon. What says you aren't an illusion right now?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "That is… something for you to decide." He continued on the path.
Gar rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "That sounds like something the real Raphael would say," he muttered under his breath as he quickened his pace to catch up with him. "So what all happened?" he asked. "What's been going on ever since I switched bodies with Raven?"
"It's… complicated," Raphael said in turn. "The Second Sorcerer-Demon War broke out in New Azarath. I managed to find and use three of Leon's Weapons. I led Azarath's army while a manifestation of Raven's powers controlled by Trigon led the demons. Eventually that "Raven" stole the remaining four Weapons and transported me to the safe room. There, she awakened Raven, who fully became Trigon reborn. We fought, and in the end she managed to expel him from her body. And Raven destroyed Trigon at last."
Gar nodded. "I see… so where is Raven? And why are we here?" As the two walked along the forest, he began to notice some movement from transient shapes around them. Specks of ghastly white appeared in the distance.
The Azarathean man noticed him gazing at the shapes and said, "Don't mind them. They are just the souls of the deceased. Soon they shall depart to their final resting place." He nodded and continued along. "Besides Raven being the offspring of Trigon and the gem from which he was to come to the mortal world ten years ago, there was no tie between her and him. After she had defeated him, she was cleansed of all remnants of Trigon. Because of that, Trigon created a plan to connect himself to her in order to transfer his soul out of his inter-dimensional prison and into her body. When he managed to bind his soul to her body five years ago through Malcolm Crowe, he caused her mind to become a portal that acted as a three-way split between the three realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. When you and Raven entered her mind, you two were transported into Trigon's realm of Hell. After his defeat once more, you were taken to here while Raven was transported to Heaven. That's where you must go."
"Take me there," the changeling said.
"Not yet," came the reply. The two came to a stop before some railroad tracks that carved a path in the forest. "First, I think there are some people who would like to see you." Gar replied with a confused look before he glanced behind him, and saw to his surprise several people wearing pale white clothes staring back at him. Immediately he recognized a man and a woman who were smiling the broadest.
"Mom! Dad!" he called as he ran towards them. Opening his arms out for an embrace, he felt the blood rush from his body for a split second as he ran right through their intangible bodies and fell to the ground. Quickly, he picked himself up and scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, I… I guess I got carried away. I—I missed you guys."
"We missed you too, Gar," Steve Dayton said with a smile as he nodded to his wife, Rita Farr.
"We've been watching you, sweetheart," Rita said. "All this time, we've been watching."
"O—oh…" Gar replied with a disappointed sigh. "Then… you've known about everything that I did."
"Yes, we do," Steve nodded. "And son…" he placed his ghostly hand on his adoptive son's shoulder. "Son, I couldn't be more proud of you than if you were the first man on the moon."
Gar's ears perked up. "You—you are?"
Rita placed her arms around Gar's body, the closest she could go for a hug. "Gar, you are so much braver and stronger than I ever thought you could be. I am so proud to call you my son."
"You are going to marry her?" Steven asked him.
Gar nodded. "I just wish you two could be there."
"We will be. Your mother and I will always be with you."
Rita kissed his cheek. He did not feel anything, but his heart felt warm. His attention was then brought to another couple—a man with blond hair and a woman with light brown hair—holding each other's arms. Slowly he made his way towards them. He had no memory of these two people, but somewhere deep inside his heart, he knew who they were.
"You—you are my parents, aren't you?" he asked them. "My real parents." They both nodded with warm smiles. Gar wiped away the tears that grew in his eyes. "I—" he started. "I—I…" He could not bring himself to words, but no words needed to be said, and his birth parents stepped forth and hugged him.
"My Garfield," Marie Logan whispered to him. "My beautiful, beautiful Garfield."
Tears rolled down his face and he began shaking uncontrollably. "Why—" he squeaked. "Why did you two have to go and leave me like that? Why… did you have to die…?"
"I—I'm so sorry, my son," he heard his father say to him. "I wanted more than anything to be there for you, always. To watch you grow up. To be there for all those important moments of your life. I wanted to be there for you. I'm sorry I couldn't have done any of that."
Marie continued. "I wanted to tuck you in every night and wake you up every morning. I wanted to teach you the alphabet and how to ride a bike. I wanted… I wanted to do so much." She paused to wipe away her own tears. "While you were a baby, all you could've have eaten was baby food. I wanted you to grow up quickly so that I'd be able to finally give you food that I made with my own hands. But then… I—I never was able to… You were never able to taste your own mother's cooking… not even once."
"I love you both so much," Gar sniffled. "Even though I don't even remember you, not a single day has passed that I didn't think about you. It was so hard having to lose one set of parents, let alone two… but I've managed to do fine. I will always keep you in my heart."
Mark Logan smiled and placed his arm comfortingly around his wife's shoulder. "We will never stop thinking about you either, my son."
Gar gave them a reassuring smile and turned away, this time his eyes meeting a man with crisp white hair and a beard. He walked towards the man, who tried not to meet his gaze. "You're Slade, aren't you?"
The man cleared his throat. "If you must know."
"So that's what you look like," the changeling thought aloud. He noticed that Slade's right eye was healed. "How come you're here with all the good people?"
Slade Wilson closed his eyes. "The deceased, no matter what their actions or motives, all come to here before their final judgment. I am no exception. What happens beyond here does not distress me, for I know it is what I deserve."
Gar turned away and came face to face with a small group of people that was slowly amassing as more and more ghosts joined. "You," he said to the man in the front of the flock. "You're that one guy from New Azarath that Rift possessed, right?"
Horatio gave a polite bow. "The name is Horatio." He gestured towards the large group of spirits behind him. "We are the ones who have died for our beloved world in the Second War." He looked Gar in the eye and said to him, "Thank you," with another bow.
Gar then noticed from the corner of his eye a woman standing in the distance. She had long, brown hair, blue eyes, and wore a sad look on her face. Before he could recognize her, she briskly turned around and walked away.
He raised his finger and pointed towards her. "Who is—" he began, but was interrupted by the sharp sound of a train horn. Spinning around, he saw a large train approaching them from the train tracks. The train came closer and closer and began to slow until it came to a halt directly in front of them. The train was vaguely nineteenth century style and had a grayish-blue tint that seemed effervescent and ethereal. He recognized it as the train that had appeared to him in a dream the night he and Raven had switched bodies a few months ago as well as the train that had appeared in Raven's dreams every night since five years ago.
"What is that?" he asked Raphael, who was gazing at the train intently.
"The Phantom Train," came the reply. "It carries the souls of the dead to the other side. It is here that the deceased become the departed and leave behind all their ties to the living world."
"All their ties? Then does that mean my parents won't remember me anymore?"
Raphael shook his head. "I do not know. What lies beyond those rails, what happens to the souls of the departed, what kind of place the train brings them, I do not know. All I know is that they can never return. But I will say that I want to believe it is a place where the souls can be, at last, forever happy."
"Our time has come to board the train," Steve Dayton said as he led his wife onto the open door of the train. Mark and Marie Logan soon came up behind them, followed by Slade and the Azaratheans.
As the ghosts boarded the Phantom Train one by one, Gar said to Raphael, "Thanks, for giving me the chance to say goodbye to them. Where do we go now?"
Raphael cleared his throat. "On the other side of these tracks lies a white path that will lead you out of the Phantom Forest. Follow that path and you will sooner or later find yourself at the place where Raven is."
"Alright, then. Let's go."
Raphael stopped him. "Actually," he said. "This is where I must leave you."
Gar looked at him in confusion. "What? But you have to help me find Raven. She could be anywhere up there—"
"The place where you are going, I cannot go at the moment," he interrupted and turned towards the changeling. "Garfield, there is something I must tell you. Do you remember that legend that Raven and I were talking about earlier? The legend of the Inheritance and how the three Inheritors of the Three Magi will come and defeat Trigon in the Second Sorcerer-Demon War?"
Gar scoffed. "Yeah, I remember. Funny, I don't remember seeing any of these 'Inheritors' showing up to help."
"Well… they did come. I am an Inheritor, and so is Raven." Gar was silent, too confused and shocked to say anything. Raphael continued. "It is said that there are three ways that one could be an Inheritor: by blood, by power, and by will. The first Azar passed on her powers to each of her successors, making each Azar an Inheritor. After Trigon's first attack ten years ago, some of the second Azar's powers were lost, floating aimlessly without a host until they made their way into Raven. Through that Inheritance of power, Raven became Azar's Inheritor. Also, while thousands of years ago, Sorcerer Leon did die after the First Sorcerer-Demon War when he created the Seven Weapons, nobody knew that he had earlier impregnated a young woman whom he had fallen in love with. That young woman kept her child's true identity a secret, and for generations the bloodline of Leon continued without anyone ever knowing. In the end, that bloodline came to me. I am a direct descendant of Leon, and therefore his Inheritor. The Weapons sensed their master's blood in me; that was why I was able to use them."
Gar slowly opened his mouth, trying to figure out what to say. "So… you and Raven were both Inheritors. That's why you both managed to defeat Trigon. But wait, there's still one more isn't there? There's supposed to be three." With this, Raphael gave him a mysterious and knowing smile. "What?" Gar asked. Slowly the answer dawned upon him. "…Me?" he asked reluctantly.
The Azarathean nodded. "You, Garfield, are the third—the Inheritor of Dante."
"But—but how?" he protested. "I'm—I'm not from Azarath like you two. I was born on Earth. I have nothing to do with it. How am I—how am I an Inheritor?"
"I said there were three ways one could be an Inheritor: by blood, by power, and by will. I was by blood. Raven was by power. You… you were by will."
"'By will'? What does that even mean?"
"It means you were not born to be an Inheritor like me nor did you become one from accidental forces like Raven, but you are one because you have chosen to be one. You became an Inheritor through your actions." He paused as he laid a hand on the Phantom Train. "Dante was neither a mighty sorcerer like Leon nor was he a powerful sorceress like Azar, but he was a brilliant scholar with an extraordinary will. During the First War, he used his knowledge and his will to unlock the power of magic to grant to the mortals and empower them to fight. He became the first and only mortal to traverse the realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. It was not his power nor his strength that allowed him to do so, but the power of his mind and his heart—his determination and perseverance to save and protect the ones he loved. You, too, did that. You are the first mortal after Dante to dive into the depths of Hell, traverse the forests of Purgatory, and soon discover the realm of Heaven. You do this to protect the ones you love the most. You are the second mortal to ever do so, and quite possibly the last." He placed a hand on Gar's shoulder. "Some men are chosen to be great. Some men are given the power to be great. But some, Garfield, some become great because they choose to be."
Gar let out a long sigh as he struggled to understand all this. "But wait," he questioned. "I'm not the only one. You're here too, aren't you? You're alive just like me and here you are in the Phantom Forest with me." Raphael's eyes blinked for a moment and he replied with a sad smile. "Raphael…" Gar said. "You are—alive—right? Tell me you are. You are, aren't you?"
The man turned away and faced the Phantom Train. "In the final battle with Trigon, just after I destroyed the ties that Trigon used to bind him and Raven, he cast a Death Curse that was headed straight towards me. I was protected by the Ring of Azar, but… Raven… was right behind me and was left unprotected. I knew that Raven might be killed by the Death Curse, so at the last moment, I took off the Ring of Azar and slipped it onto her finger. When the curse was cast, I was hit and killed. Raven was protected and is safe."
Gar was silent and gulped. "R—Raphael…" he stammered.
"Don't worry about me. I died to protect Raven. That is good enough for me." He gave a smile. Gar didn't know whether it was genuine or not. As the last ghost boarded the train, Raphael made his way towards it and climbed through the open door.
"You can't just leave like that!" Gar found himself yelling. "Raven loves you! Even if she doesn't love you romantically, she still loves you as a friend, like a brother. You were her childhood friend, and nothing can change that. How would she feel when she finds out you're gone? And what about Starfire? What about Victor? What about Dick? We all want you to stay. I want you to stay. I want to tell you that I'm sorry for always giving you a hard time and accusing you of things because of my jealousy and insecurity. I wanted you to be with us, be our friend. I want us to be on good terms. I... was going to ask you to walk Raven down the aisle at our wedding."
Raphael merely smiled and thanked him. "But it's my turn to accept my fate now," he said, turning around to face Gar one last time. "Take care of her."
"Raphael!" Gar yelled. He gripped his hands and nodded. "Will all my heart, I will."
"Thank you, Garfield," Raphael said with a small bow. "When the train leaves, follow the road and don't give up. It may be long, but you will make it. Find Raven, and everything will work out from there. Long is the way, and hard, that out of Hell leads up to Light. But in the end, all will be good."
The doors to the train closed and with one final whistle of the horn, the Phantom Train shifted into motion, and before Gar realized it, it had already disappeared beyond the horizon. Gripping his hands once more, he crossed over the railroad tracks and journeyed his way down the path and out of the forest. "'Long is the way, and hard, that out of Hell leads up to Light,'" he said, repeating Raphael's last words. "'But in the end, all will be good.' All will be good… Don't worry, Raven. I'm coming."
~Difficult Words to Say~
Well there, you have it. The result of the game was Raphael - 4, Arella - 4. A tie! With that, I was to decide and I cast my own vote, which set the final results to Raphael - 5, Arella - 4. And with that, Raphael met his maker.
The game was to decide who would die. Because Raphael won, he died by the Death Curse and was Garfield's guide in the Phantom Forest. In the end, the two reconciled their differences and came in terms with one another before Raphael was carried off in the Phantom Train. Had Arella won, there would not have been any Death Curse and Raphael would survive. When Garfield wakes up in the Phantom Forest, Arella would've been his guide and she would have accompanied him to Heaven before departing after he finds Raven. Raphael would've led Raven down the aisle at the wedding, but he and Gar would've remained not-friends. (If it makes you guys feel better, I feel like Raphael dying and Gar reconciling their differences is the better option.)
Bluedog197 - I wouldn't say Trigon is afraid of not being remembered after he dies, more like he does not understand the concept of life or why people continue to live and create when everything is destined to die and end. And great job on figuring out that Raphael and Garfield were both Inheritors! Sharp mind you got there!
JasonVUK - Yes sir, Raven not only beat Trigon, but destroyed him at last. Dark Raven isn't Trigon, per se, but a physical manifestation of Raven's powers possessed by Trigon. It's supposed to show just how powerful Trigon became after he latched onto Raven's body. While in the past, he could only make people obey him (a power we see through Rift and his mind-control abilities given by Trigon), with Raven's body and powers Trigon is able to completely place his mind within someone else's. This means that Trigon's mind was (for all sake's and purposes) in Dark Raven. This also means that the Trigon that controlled Raven's body to fight Raphael on Earth, the Trigon in Rift's form that fought Garfield in Raven's mind, and the Trigon that controlled the dragon demon to fight on New Azarath is all the same mind at the same time. Yeah. That's how powerful he became. And yes, I'm sorry to say that by voting Raphael, you are condemning him.
glad - I'm glad you voted. Haha, get it?
Thebookthief18 - Thank you very much for your kind words. I hope you truly did enjoy this. The things that Gar said, especially, they come from my heart. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
CleoArrow - Thanks for your review and the vote! Boy, I bet some epic background music would make this even more exciting. Too bad these things are all text... Oh well! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. :)
Lilypad009 - Not his fault! I'd say that there was no way for him to close it. After all, if they could barely open the door, how would they close it? And as for your question, I would like to leave that up for your own personal interpretation. I will say that some DC Comics universes portray Trigon as an incredibly powerful demon or demon god while others portray him as Satan, himself. The rest, as Raphael would say, "is up for you to decide."
Kaarlinaa - Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
lunae57 - Thank you very much! I surely did have a great time writing it. But there are still some more chapters to go, so stay tuned! :)
darlsonalice - Thank you! There are still a few chapters left so don't feel too sad yet.
kingkoolaid - Haha thanks. Hope you liked reading this chapter too!
General Red Star - There are still a couple chapters left. With my speed, it'll probably be several more weeks until I get them all out. So hang in there, and Stay Gold, Ponyboy!
Lolister - Well it's a good think Arella lost the game or otherwise she'd die!