[Chapter 13]
[Dark Lair - Three Days Later]
Vilea observed her eggs. A couple days ago, one of them had begun moving. Now, all three were occasionally twitching, which meant one thing.
The eggs were ready to hatch.
She was thrilled. After all of this time, the eggs were ready. She told a dragon to go get her father, and that was what she was waiting for now.
Finally, after a moment, Grand Darkness arrived, seeing the three eggs. He frowned. "Only three?"
"I know, I am disappointed as well", said Vilea. "After a full week of breaking that insect, and all I get are three children. But one is enough for the ceremony. The other two will be raised as warriors, for your army, Father. Just like in the old days... these will not be incompatible with humans. They can give children to humans. And we can bring back the Behemoths and Leviathans of this world, and eradicate all in our way."
Grand Darkness grinned. "Very good, my daughter. I expected nothing less." He then turned. "Now... if you'll excuse me, I have a war to engage. And expect some company; I intend to bring back my mortal grandchildren."
"Wait, what?" Vilea asked, surprised. "I thought I was your only daughter?"
"You are. My only legitimate one, anyway", the Traitor said. "But the whole point of this mission isn't to bring an end to the world.
"It's a family reunion."
[Titan's Tower]
The two Ravens had begun their morning routine, traveling to the roof with Edward in tow to begin meditating. Over the last couple days, Edward had made leaps and bounds on his training. Probably because he was used to meditating alongside his wife, Rachael, so he had an advantage there. And Raven was working alongside them because despite her age compared to Edward, she still had more experience than the dragon.
Little did they know that all of that experience would leave them nothing.
As Raven was meditating, she felt a tugging at her mind. And immediately she recognized it. The same thing happened when Solor was banished to Edward's universe. She opened her eyes, gasping. "Guys... get ready to fight", she said, grunting a bit as she felt her body slowly losing control. She may have some more resistance now, but the assault was brutal and unrelenting even in the slightest. "I think we... have company..." With that, her eyes turned a dark red, as she succumbed to the possession.
"There we go... possession complete", came a serpent-like voice. Raven stood up, turning to Edward and Rachael. "So... you care for this one, correct, Edward Barnes?" Raven's hand reached up, moving the cloak out of the way. "Perhaps if I was attracted to humans, she'd make a good bride. She does have quite the body at such a young age." She licked her lips, glaring at the married couple. "Now... who shall I dispose of first?"
Edward snarled, "Speak thy name, Dark Traitor. I would know the name of the person whose rear is about to get kicked. Rachael, it's time, I fear."
Before Rachael could do anything, though, the Dark Dragon used Raven's powers to freeze her. "No, no, can't have you do anything to stop me", she said. "Now, to answer your question... I am Nightmare. I am second only to Vilea when it comes to possession. And... What's this?" She suddenly looked into the Tower, grinning. "Brother Malchior? So this is where he has been hiding. And it looks like quite a spell has been placed on his prison... one that only this Raven can undo." She smirked, reaching up with a free hand and removing the cloak completely. "Perhaps I can go and get that book... it will mean quite the reward if I can collect both Ravens and the lost child. But then there's you, the hybrid." She got into a battle stance. "Maybe I should beat you within an inch of your life before I send you to a new universe."
Edward's eyes narrowed and he went to his battle form and thumped his tail in a pattern, telling the others that there was a problem.
"You are in a mortal body, Nightmare," Edward said, "You may have Raven's body and access to her powers, but, I doubt that you can access the strength of a dragon. Also, I am not afraid of you, Traitor. In my universe, Malchior is no more. And when we're through with you, you will not be in such a rush to possess any of my friends."
Edward needed to buy time for reinforcements to arrive, though. He was hoping that he could get him to release Rachael somehow.
"So, Malchior had a counterpart. He must have been weak to be defeated by you," Nightmare said.
"Actually, he wasn't a pushover," Edward replied, "But, that's irrelevant. And, you will find that I am not a pushover, either."
"We'll see about that," she replied and fired off some of Raven's powers to try to capture Edward. He was ready for that and leapt out of the way, though. He responded with a lightning attack, forcing her to erect a shield to block the power.
Yet, she maintained her grip on Rachael and that bothered Edward to no end, but, he also set that aside.
[Starfire!] he called out telepathically [Get Solor! Raven's possessed by someone named Nightmare. Get into Raven's room and get rid of that white book that is in a chest. Do not destroy it, just take it somewhere and guard it.]
Nightmare was unaware that Edward had telepathy, it was hoped. Nightmare threw another attack at Edward and he countered the move before whipping his tail around and making contact. But, instead of Nightmare flying across the roof of the Tower, she blocked the blow, getting a grunt out of Edward.
"Dang!" he said.
"Nice try," Nightmare said and grabbed Edward by the tail and tried to flip him, only to see Edward morphing to a smaller form and slipping out of her grasp.
The other Titans arrived and their jaws dropped.
"A little help here, guys!" Edward said, "This isn't Raven, it's Nightmare...one of Darkness' minions."
Edward used his lightning breath again while Nightmare was distracted and was able to make contact. The power flowed around Nightmare as she grunted, her hold on Rachael weakening.
"Crap... at this rate I may not get both of the children", Nightmare growled. "Fine then. Let's cut this short. Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" With that, the soul self of Raven was forced out of her body, as well as a black dragon shape grabbing onto Raven. Soon, the two twisted and turned in midair, with Raven obviously trying to escape. Eventually, the dragon roared, and the two were separated from the Titans, disappearing into the void of a Tear of Oblivion. Raven's body fell limp, and Rachael was released, but at a cost.
Robin slammed his fist against the door. "We're too late... Nightmare got away with Raven's soul."
Another Tear opened up, and Solor arrived, panting. "Where is she?!" he roared.
"Perfect timing", said Edward, who was glaring coldly at the spot where Raven had vanished. "Solor, we're going on that mission."
Solor at first looked surprised, but upon noticing the limp Raven, he nodded. "Very well. We need to head for Greece. My training with Life has allowed me to morph into a bat for an hour; that should be enough time to find Vilea and destroy the eggs before they can summon Trigon."
Edward said, "They just made this personal. Robin, please take my wife and Raven to the Med Bay. As much as it pains me to say this: If we do not recover Raven's soul soon, her mortal shell will die no matter what we do. Do NOT allow Rachael to follow me or implant a piece of her soul-self into your Raven. I know it sounds selfish, and I apologize for that if it does. I just do not know what will happen."
Neither of them knew it was too little, too late, though. The forced trial made sure of that. The eggs were going to hatch.
Solor turned to the Tear, which was still open and awaiting him. "My father is holding this Tear open for us. We must enter quickly, so he can re-coordinate it to Mt. Olympus. There, we should be able to easily find the cavern." He turned to Raven's limp form as Robin lifted it up. He leaned down, whispering into Raven's ear. "I will find you, little sister. I will find you, and I will save you." He turned back to the Tear. "I will go first. I know the layout thanks to Vulonviing repeatedly telling me. We should have a good map of the Dark Lair. Whenever you are ready, join me on the other side." With that, he stepped through the portal, vanishing into the darkness.
Edward leaned over Raven, gave her a kiss and said, "We'll get you back, Raven."
Than, kissed Rachael and said, "Stay strong, dear. I'll be back soon."
"We got this, dawg" Cyborg said, "Go!"
Edward followed Solor into the Tear.
[Lair]
Edward emerged and quickly thanked Sol and said, "About the earlier trial...I do not blame you. But, you and the Circle made your point...Thank you."
Sol said, "I'm glad, Kiinnum, but, this will have to wait." Sol looked to the Tear. "Prepare yourselves. Where you are going is the darkest location on the mortal realm. You will be alone, and if you fail, then the mission will fail. We will not be able to send any more soldiers to try to stop the Traitor and Vilea."
"Understood", Solor said. "Send us to Mt. Olympus. We will not fail."
Sol smiled. "You have my faith." He spoke in the dragon tongue, and quickly the Tear vanished and reopened. "There we go. You will arrive shortly. May the First guide your paths."
The two infiltrators looked at each other, nodded, and stepped through the Tear again.
[Mt. Olympus]
They emerged from the Tear and it closed quickly.
Edward said, "We dodged a bullet. Nightmare found Malchior's prison and was going to make a play to capture it. Had that happened, we might have been boned. You've got point, as you said, and, I am yours to lead, Starborn. I can stay in a bat form as long as needed, so, we should be OK, even if you have to bug out."
Starborn smirked, "I never thought I'd hear you offer to let me lead, but, thank you."
Edward morphed to a bat and squeaked as if to say, "After you, man."
Solor morphed as well, squeaking as well. He took the lead, flying up into the cave.
The path twisted and wound around the entire mountain, spiraling down as they traveled together. Solor took the lead, using echolocation to find the way down to the main chamber... where thousands of dragons were filing up.
[What are they doing?] thought Solor, projecting his thoughts towards Edward. [They aren't just laying around, like Vulonviing said. Are they...?]
[With the capture of Raven's soul, they may have all they need to summon Trigon. We're gonna have to interrupt them before they can summon him], Edward thought back. The two bats flew over to the edge of the cave, where Grand Darkness was sitting. [So, that is the Traitor...]
"My children! The age of oppression is over!" said the leader of Darkness. "We have a vessel, and we have the essence of the Destroyer of Worlds! Now, with these two mixed together, my son may return to this realm, to finish what he started millions of years ago!"
[Son?!] both Light dragons thought, looking at each other.
"With the Gem of Trigon, and the Twilight Dragon, we begin the ceremony!" He turned to the side. "Bring the whelp!"
At that, a Dark Dragon walked forward, holding what looked to be a very young dragon, barely out of the eggshell. It's eyes were closed, and appeared to be sleeping, unaware of what could happen.
[We don't have time for this], said Solor. [Edward... I hate to ask you... but I need you to save Raven, and killing that whelp before it can be sacrificed. I will find Vilea, and stop her before she lets the other eggs hatch.]
[I can try,] Edward said, [Gonna have to create a diversion somehow.] Edward looked around and saw something he could use.
[OK,] he said, [See that stalactite? I'm going to have to break that off without using a form that can be seen easily. You said it's pitch black in here, right?]
[Correct], said Solor. [Dark Dragons can see basic shapes in the dark, but they have very limited night vision.]
[So, even if I used a larger form, it may take a moment for them to realize something's wrong,] Edward surmised.
Edward had an idea, but, he needed a form where he could talk, even in a whisper: use his new found powers to cause the stone to break.
[What are you planning on doing?] Solor asked.
[Remember when I said I might have Raven's powers?] Edward replied.
[Yeah,] Solor replied, [Don't tell me...]
[Myth confirmed,] Edward said, [I need a form in which I can whisper, though. You'll only have a few moments to take advantage of the chaos. When you hear Raven's mantra...]
[Gotcha,] Solor said.
Edward morphed into a Dark Dragon, just in his shoulder sized form and focused on the roof of the cavern and whispered, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A jet black aura shot out and around the top of the spike. Edward squeezed it until a loud cracking sound was heard and it dropped. Edward released the rest of it and reformed his bat form and waited for a moment.
The stone dropped, hitting several Dark Dragons in the process. The Whelpling was accidentally thrown and that's when Edward teleported and latching onto the whelps neck, broke it and teleported to a vessel that Edward's innate senses felt the echo of Raven's soul-self and managed to grab that in the confusion. He teleported that to a safe location as well. All that taking place in the space of a few seconds. With their limited vision, Edward hoped that Grand Darkness would think the whelp died in the confusion. But, the missing vessel with Raven's soul-self would not be blamed easily on a "naturally occurring incident".
[May the First forgive me,] Edward said to Solor, [the whelp is dead from a broken neck. I am sorry, brother.]
[Edward, do not beat yourself up! You do not have time and we are in a Oblivion damned war! You do not have to apologize to me,] Solor said in stern rebuke...one that Edward accepted gracefully.
There was a roar that deafened a lot of ears just then.
"NOOO! The whelp is dead! Its neck is broken!" one of the Dark Dragons said.
"The vessel with the Gem's soul is gone as well!" another noted.
Grand Darkness looked stunned then roared, "FIND THAT VESSEL, NOW! And look for invaders! This is Lair's doing! KILL THEM!"
[Solor...] Edward said, [Hurry! The Dark Dragons are pissed and that's an understatement. If you cannot find those other eggs or whelplings, we have to leave. You got maybe 5-6 minutes, if you're lucky. We didn't have time to plan this raid!]
[Confirmed.] It was then Solor sighed. [I am sorry, Brother... but only one of us will make it out of here.] Before Edward could ask what he meant, a Tear of Oblivion formed around him, and he was instantly transported out of Dark Lair, with no Dark Dragons noticing in all the confusion. Solor focused on his mission, and using his memories, found his way to the nesting grounds. He searched high and low, making sure to avoid being seen by any Dark Dragons, before finally, he stumbled upon the nest.
Vilea, having heard the news, was near the eggs. One of the whelps had hatched. The last egg was still whole, meaning the whelp wasn't quite ready to face the real world yet.
"So", said Solor, forming into a full dragon form and lighting some abandoned nests ablaze, allowing him to see. "This is where the great and mighty Vilea stands. At the back, taking care of bastard whelps."
Vilea sneered, growling back. "If it isn't Daddy. Say hello to Daddy, baby", she cooed. She then stepped forward, putting herself between Solor and the nest. "If you want them, you will have to go through me."
"That should be easy enough", Solor said, his eyes beginning to glow white. And with that, he attacked, roaring in full anger.
[Titan's Tower]
While Edward and Solor were away, the Titans did not know that Nightmare was a distraction. Slowly, another Dragon was targeting Rachael. The elder was in the med bay, watching over her young counterpart, when the door whooshed open, and Robin stepped in.
"How's she doing?" he asked, sounding concerned.
"Not good", Rachael replied. "If we don't get her soul back soon..." She shook her head. "Screw what Edward has to say. I'm not letting her die." She got up, getting ready to cast a spell, when Robin grabbed her hand.
"Rachael, don't", he began. He then smirked, squeezing her wrist as his eyes began to glow red behind the mask. "You're more useful to us alive than dead."
With that, the imposter revealed himself, taking on a more dragon-like look. "And here I thought empaths could tell when an imposter was nearby. Well, you learn something every day." He cast the spell, his body becoming an astral projection and slowly began seeping its way into her own.
[Edward! Save Raven! I-I'm not gonna -] There was a pause. [And it looks like she's mine now, Edward Barnes. Better hurry back and stop me before I take off with her body.] Despite how warped it was, Edward recognized the voice.
[Slade], he said, his voice dripping with venom. [How did you escape? How are you possessing her?!]
[So you know my name, then. Very well, I suppose you deserve answers], replied the once-masked man. [The Dark Dragons decided that they needed an ally. One who knew how to fight the Titans at every twist and turn. Who better than me? And to answer that second one... well, Darkness is very powerful, wouldn't you agree, hybrid?]
[Lair]
Edward snarled with rage. He had the vessel containing Raven's soul-self after being yanked out of the Dark Lair and giving Sol a piece of his mind, only to be interrupted by Rachael's distress call.
"That Son of a BITCH!" Edward roared, "They got MY WIFE!"
"Wait, what?" Sol said, confused by the sudden change in Edward's target.
"Slade has possessed Rachael," Edward said, pacing the ground.
Edward pulled his communicator and hit the panic button.
"Edward calling all Titans. Converge on the Titan Tower Med bay...NOW! Rachael is possessed by Slade. Delay the son of a bitch by any means necessary short of killing Rachael's body. And be careful, he may be able to jump to others," he ordered and disconnected.
Edward sighed and said, "Please keep this safe. I'll be back as soon as possible. Hopefully Starborn is not on a suicide mission, and I will have to have faith in him. This is the third time my wife's been possessed by Darkness. I need a tear opened to my Universe and held for a moment. Rachael has a mirror that goes into her mind, please."
Sol chanted in the native tongue, opening a tear back to Edward's universe.
As soon as he emerged from the tear he raced to his quarters and grabbed her mirror and raced back, not able to explain to Arella what was happening.
He leapt through the Tear and emerged back where he started.
"I'll open a ..." Sol started to say, only to see a flash of light as Edward teleported back to the Tower, "...tear."
He arrived to see the Titans fighting the possessed Rachael and Terra said, "What in the world? She fights like Slade!"
"That's because," Rachael replied, "I am Slade, dear child."
Edward knew he had to do something he'd later be apologizing to his wife for later and said, "You might know these Titans, you bastard. You do not know me.
"Azarath metrion zinthos!" he yelled and grabbed his wife in a vise grip of his new powers.
That surprised the mastermind greatly. The next thing Edward said, "Now that I have your full and undivided attention. I'm going to give you a chance to leave MY WIFE voluntarily or I will use a way to get into Nevermore and evict you by force."
Slade/Rachael was struggling to escape, but, fueled by Edward's strength and his anger, the only way to break that hold was with another Dragon.
"She is mine," was the reply, "I think I will keep her."
"Wrong answer," Edward replied, "Hold her. She tries to escape, use whatever is required to knock her out."
He looked at the mirror that Beast Boy and Cyborg recognized as Starfire moved to the back of Rachael. She nodded, "I am ready."
Edward allowed his powers to drop enough to allow Starfire to grab Rachael in one of her bearhugs. Cyborg held his sonic cannon at full charge and ready to fire.
Edward looked at the mirror, and activated it, entering into Nevermore, on his way to pay Slade a little visit. What he didn't expect, however, was for an unfamiliar soul to exit at the exact same time. And once Edward was in, he noticed that he couldn't back out. The other Titans were so stunned by this, that the now physical form of Slade was easily able to knock them out with a spin kick, hitting everyone at once.
"Too easy", he said, sounding disappointed. He turned, seeing Raven on the bed, and smirked. "There's the birthday girl." He picked up Raven's unconscious body, then turned to leave, before stopping. "I'm sure you're wondering what I did, Edward. See... I wasn't told to engage you in a fight. I knew I would lose if I took you on hand to hand. So... I tricked you. I possessed your wife's body, yes... but I was ready to leave whenever I wanted. And what better way to distract you than to make you run through Nevermore without any aid from your unconscious wife? Now... if you'll excuse me, I have a long trip. And I'm sure I'd love a certain book Raven has in her collection." He began to walk away, heading for Raven's room while Edward roared furiously in Rachael's mind, unable to act.
Edward knew the layout of Nevermore quite well and with Slade gone, it was a matter of time before the Emoticlones were waking up. Hopefully Starfire had moved the book to a far away location where only she knew like Edward asked.
[Lair]
Sol was pacing furiously, holding the vessel of Raven, when a Tear opened up.
Black flames spewed out, hitting the Grand Light hard and knocking him down. When he looked up, his eyes widened in shock as he saw Grand Darkness standing above him.
"So... you are the Grand Light?" he asked, smirking. "You are nothing like your ancestor." He turned to the several Dark Dragons behind him. "Do as you please, my children. After today, the Tyranny of the Circle is no more! I shall summon our savior! Darkness Extinguish Light!"
The army roared in response, and rushed at Sol. The last he saw of the Traitor was him exiting into the Tear that he had entered.
[Dark Lair]
Grand Darkness arrived safely, and saw his daughter. "Vilea? I thought you were staying with your nest?"
"I was, when I found this little bug crawling around", she replied, and held up the unconscious body of Solor. "If it were not for that general you posted at my nest, then he would have surely killed my babies."
"Good work, my daughter. Now, hand me the next whelp." She obeyed, handing over the napping baby dragon. Grand Darkness moved to the ceremonial altar once more, placing Raven's body and soul together before placing the whelp on top.
"With your own child, my son... I summon you from your banishment in the realm between realms! Trigon the Terrible, awaken now at your FULL power! Make this world the Land of Eternal Darkness!"
With that, the marks of Scath appeared on Raven's body, and she woke up just in time to scream as loud as possible.
Trigon was reborn.