Thresholding by CidGregor
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
This fic is dedicated to Post, for all that he has contributed to its existence. (catgirls are fun.)
Chapter 17
The Zhanghut exploded forward, jaws gnashing for blood. Robin's blood.
Robin's instincts took over rational thought instantly, for rational thought was susceptible to fear, and there was plenty of that coursing through the Boy Wonder's veins.
He hurled his body sideways, and the Zhanghut sped straight past him. Its teeth chomped only at empty air.
"Hrrawwrr!.!.!"
The Zhanghut skidded to a stop and pivoted. It pawed at the ground with a foreleg, snarled, and dashed at Robin again.
The Boy Wonder dropped and flattened himself against the ground just as the beast was upon him, and its jaws missed him once again as it sailed past him, though this time Robin could feel its hot, foul breath wash over his back as it passed.
The Zhanghut twisted around again, searching the spot Robin had been in a moment ago, but it was empty. The teen was instead bolting toward the wall of the circular room.
The Zhanghut bolted after him, catching up in a hurry, but by the time it got close, Robin was vaulting up the wall in a huge leap. He planted his feet against the cold metal and kicked off. He sprang up and away from the wall, clear over the beast's head.
Robin flipped in midair and landed right behind the creature. Quick as a flash, before it could turn around, he dropped and swung his leg in a wide, low arc and swept the beast's back legs out from under it…
…or he tried to, anyway.
Too late, he realized the Zhanghut's hind legs were almost as thick as tree trunks, and all he succeeded at doing was causing a sharp pain to shoot through his shin. He scrambled to his feet just as the Zhanghut had turned, and the Boy Wonder backpedaled frantically as the beast dug its jaws downward and scraped loudly against the smooth metal.
"You cannot evade it forever, Robin!" he heard Tromand'r shout from his vantage point far above. "You must FIGHT, and you must WIN!"
Robin cast an annoyed half-glance at the Tamaranian, but turned back to face him completely a moment later and grinned. He ran toward the wall directly underneath Tromand'r's balcony, the Zhanghut galloping after him. Once again Robin made an enormous leap, and planted his feet on the wall at the peak of the jump. But this time, rather than pushing off away from the wall and over his opponent, he kicked off the wall almost vertically, arms reaching for the ledge on which a smug-looking Tromand'r stood.
"Not that way, Robin," he said.
Robin heard him a moment to late; the moment his fingers stretched to grab the lip of the balcony, a flash of white blocked him, sending him plummeting in a helpless freefall.
"Force field, Robin!" Tromand'r bellowed. "I told you, there is no escaping from this fight! You must defeat the creature, not run from it!"
Robin heard him in the back of his mind, but his main focus was instead on the enormous gnashing teeth below him. He pivoted in midair and aimed his feet straight down at the Zhanghut, who was facing straight up, jaws wide.
At the last moment, Robin spread his legs, and with all the balance that half a lifetime of circus trapeze training had earned him, he braced each foot against the beast's upper and lower jaws, teeth scraping and screeching horribly against the steel soles of the teen's boots.
The Zhanghut growled deep in its throat and tried to squeeze its jaws closed, but Robin's legs held the beast's mouth wide. Robin flailed his arms, trying to maintain balance hovering over the gaping maw and the abnormally narrow windpipe, but he was slowly losing it.
At the last moment he kicked off from the lower jaw and flipped over the creature's head, which landed him square on its back. And at that moment, the image of wild bull riders getting hurled from the backs of bulls at rodeos came to mind. This felt far too similar.
Robin grabbed for the first support he could find. One hand found the collar around the Zhanghut's neck that the chain had once been attached to. A short, broken piece of chain still connected to the collar was where his other hand fell, and just in time, for the creature began twisting and bucking wildly, trying to dismount the Boy Wonder. Robin held on for dear life, managing to keep his hold on the Zhanghut for a solid minute, though he was flailing around comically the entire time, earning some roaring laughs from the sole spectator.
Robin's grip faltered for the briefest of moments in one hand, and to his misfortune, another sharp jerk of the Zhanghut's neck moved the collar out of Robin's reach. Instinctively his now-free hand joined his other hand wrapped around the short length of chain. But now his seat was highly unstable, and with one great swing of its neck, the Zhanghut hurled Robin off its back.
Robin twisted in midair so he landed on his feet and skidded to a stop. The Zhanghut was on him in less than a second.
"HRAAWR!.!.!"
Robin leapt straight up again, but not high enough to clear the height of his opponent. Instead his legs shot out and delivered a double kick right between its eyes. Immediately the creature lost its balance and fell forward, allowing Robin to sprint across its back and touch ground on the other side. The creature's head reeled, its eyes unfocused, and it was several moments before it got up again, allowing Robin to catch his breath and think.
It's got a weak spot between its eyes, Robin observed. But only enough to disorient him, not enough to do any actual damage…at least not without my weapons. What else can I do to hurt it…?
Robin watched carefully as the Zhanghut finally stood up, taking several small, rapid breaths, and Robin remembered, staring down into its mouth, how small its windpipe had been...
And then it clicked in Robin's mind. He knew how to beat it.
"HwwrrAAAAWRR!.!.!" it growled, enraged. Its eyes slid back into focus and it charged for Robin. Once again the Boy Wonder jumped and thrust his feet, harder this time, into the soft spot between its eyes. Again the creature lost its balance and toppled over. It reeled, dizzy and disoriented, and tried to focus its dazed eyes on the teen hero.
"Over here, you big goon!" Robin shouted at the Zhanghut, hoping to aggravate it into action before it could fully recover.
He succeeded.
The Zhanghut charged Robin, its movements erratic and sluggish. Its jaws hung open and a great wet tongue whipped about, flicking saliva everywhere. Robin, however, instead of running away from it, instead dashed straight at it.
Gotta time this just right…
Five feet apart the creature's jaws opened wide, and Robin took his chance. He leapt forward, arms outstretched…and sailed straight into the beast's mouth.
Tromand'r couldn't help but recoil in horror. Without any warning at all, the battle had very suddenly ended…and Robin had lost. It was impossible. What in X'Hal's name had that boy been thinking, throwing himself down the Zhanghut's throat? Was he trying to escape his responsibilities? Or had the pressure of those responsibilities simply broken his mind?
Either way it didn't matter, Tromand'r thought as he watched the beast lick its lips. The Princess' chosen suitor was gone, dead in only the first Trial…how was he ever going to tell her? How could the peace continue without Earth's half of the betrothal?
The Captain heaved a sad sigh as he disabled the force field on his balcony and hovered down to the main floor. He walked slowly toward the creature, ready to subdue it and with any luck perhaps recover Robin's body…when abruptly the Zhanghut began to make the most peculiar sounds.
"…Nama du X'Hal…?" Tromand'r murmured in his own tongue.
The Zhanghut heaved, its jaws hanging open. Its legs quivered, like they could barely support their owner's weight anymore. It made a gasping sound, like it was trying to draw breath but couldn't manage the feat.
At last the creature shuddered and fell over on its side with a weak moan, twitching rapidly…then slower…slower…slower…until finally it stopped moving altogether, and the room was silent.
Tromand'r approached the beast cautiously, not quite sure what had just happened. He looked into the creature's blank eyes, felt its limp form, and Tromand'r was sure. It was dead. But how?
His question was answered by a small movement inside the Zhanghut's mouth. As Tromand'r watched, its jaws were forced slowly open, and a masked face shot out, struggling for breath.
"Fresh…air…" Robin gasped. "Dear God it stinks…"
Tromand'r was bewildered. "Robin! I had marked you for dead! What in X'Hal's name were you thinking, jumping into its very jaws?"
Robin slowly forced the heavy jaws open so he could step out, and Tromand'r noticed his cape was missing. "It was the only way I could stop it," Robin explained. "Take it down from the inside. Take a look."
Tromand'r peered down the Zhanghut's throat, and realized Robin's strategy. His missing cape was stuffed into the beast's narrow windpipe. All that lurching around had been the creature trying – and failing – to draw breath, and when the blockage would not move, it had suffocated to death.
The Captain smiled. "Admirable, Robin. You have passed the first Trial with more cunning than I had given you credit for."
"I learned from the best," was all Robin said.
Tromand'r peeled the saliva-drenched garment from the creature's throat and handed it to Robin, who pinched it between two fingers and held it away from him, disgusted. "It'll take ages to get all the slime out, I just know it," he murmured, wiping off excess saliva from his own costume.
"You'll have some time to clean up while the second Trial is being prepared," Tromand'r assured him. "Come. Your friends are waiting."
"…and then he was all like, 'Take that, villain!' and the monster-thing was all, 'Nooooooo-coughhack-c-can't-breathe!' and then it just fell over and died and THAT WAS SO TOTALLY WICKED!"
Robin stared with a raised eyebrow at the green Titan, and he wasn't the only one doing so. "You guys…saw the fight?"
"We got a nice vid feed," Cyborg said. "Smooth moves, there, Robbie. Didn't know you could still kick butt so well without all your toys."
"Sucks about being covered in alien spit, though," Terra commented with a shudder. "Grossness…"
"Any idea what the next task will be?" Raven asked.
Robin shook his head. "Not a clue. Apparently I'm supposed to know as little as possible beforehand. …Damn this thing itches…"
Robin scratched at the shoulders of his new outfit. Tromand'r had taken his costume to be cleaned and provided him with traditional Tamaranian garb to wear in the meanwhile, and he HATED it. Purple was NOT his color at all, it showed off more skin than he was comfortable with, and it itched something fierce. But at least Tromand'r hadn't fought him when he insisted on keeping the mask.
Robin glanced around the room; it was the room he'd been given as temporary living quarters, but he'd hardly used it…yet. He looked at each his friends and teammates, happy that they were still there supporting him…well, most of them, anyway. He looked to his right and let out a quiet sigh. The space on the bed next to him…the seat Starfire would surely have taken…stood empty.
Raven watched this. "So…you really can't see her until the Trials are finished?"
Robin slowly shook his head. "Not even for a moment."
"That's rough, man," Cyborg said.
Robin glanced at his friends. "Have…you guys gotten to see her?"
"Just once, before the Trial," Terra said. "She told us pretty much the same thing. They're kinda keeping her isolated until the Trials are done. They don't want us to be passing notes back and forth between you, so…we're as cut off as you are."
"Sounds pretty lonely for Star…" Beast Boy added. "Hope she's doing okay."
"Yeah…" Robin said quietly, then spoke up. "All the more reason to finish these Trials as quickly as possible."
"I wonder why they didn't make that Glrdl…uh…Girdle…whatever…that slimy green thing…why didn't they make him do these trials?"
"Because the Tamaranians weren't in control," Raven said. "Blackfire and Glrdlskletchhh were. I imagine they skipped over the Trials to force Star to marry the thing that much sooner."
"Do I even want to know what this 'Girdlesketch' thing was?" Terra said with a shudder.
"Probably not," Cyborg chuckled. "Man, Rob, you shoulda seen your face when that thing came out…hoo-man, priceless…"
Before Robin could muster a reply, the door slid open, and Galfore entered the room. "Ah, Robin…well done, you've passed the first Trial!"
"Uh…yeah, thanks…" Robin said. "Is it time for the second?"
"Indeed it is," Galfore said. "Come."
Robin stood, but didn't leave quite yet. He turned to his team. "Listen…before I go, I might as well let you know in advance…once these Trials are over and the ceremony is done, I'll be part of the Tamaranian army, and Starfire and I will both be expected to serve with them until the Gordanians are stopped…so you guys will be on your own until then."
The other four Titans cast unsure glances at one another at this new information.
"Don't worry, I trust you guys. You can handle yourselves." Robin turned to his largest teammate. "Cyborg…you're my second-in-command. That means you're in charge while I'm gone. Take care of them, alright?"
"Don't even have to ask, man. I'll hold down the fort," Cyborg assured him. He grinned. "You just worry about getting yourself married."
Robin couldn't help but blush a little. "Heh…right…married…"
And with that, Robin and Galfore were gone, leaving the four remaining Titans to mull over their new situation. No one spoke for a while, each of them lost in their own thoughts, and it was five minutes before the silence was broken.
"This…won't last much longer, will it?" came the earth maiden's voice. "This…peace, this quiet…any minute now the Gordanians could move in…and we'll be fighting for our lives for…for God knows how long…"
"Then you better enjoy the peace while you can," Raven said. "I think I'll do just that…"
And with a wisp of black Raven was gone, surely back to her own quarters to meditate.
"…Think I'll get some repairs done on the T-ship…" Cyborg murmured. "It'll be nice to have it fully operational, in case we need it for the fight…"
And just like that Cyborg was gone as well.
Beast Boy nudged closer to Terra. "You gonna be okay?"
Terra tried to reassure him with a smile, but it didn't come out right at all. Her mouth contorted and twisted until the simple smile looked terribly forced. He could tell she was scared. That the smile quickly faded only reinforced that belief.
"C'mere, hon," Beast Boy said, drawing his arms around her. She quickly responded, clinging tightly to him like a frightened child to its mother.
"I don't wanna go to war," Terra said with a shiver. "People…people die in war. Thousands…millions…what if…what if we…"
"It'll be okay, Terra…" Beast Boy whispered in her ear, slowly stroking her golden hair. "I'm scared too. But I promise…It'll be okay…"
And for the moment, wrapped up in her lover's arms…Terra let herself believe him.