An Authors Note: To Vegeta247-Now, while I am a Zelda fan (best darn RPG in the WORLD) I really did not have it in mind when I was writing this, unless it was one of those subconscious things. Anyway, thanks for reviewing this, you are my second reviewer! Sorry I don't have a door prize for you.

I also am getting a bit nervous. So far it seems only two people have read this. Is it because I'm new to this fan fiction thing? I feel like a person talking to a wall.

Oh, well, I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm going to finish this darned thing no matter what, even if no one is actually reading it!

On with the show!

Chapter Six

A Monster is Summoned

The Titans stared at Jinx with identical looks of puzzlement etched on their faces. Not only had they just seen the ghost of a big black bird of prey, but said bird had also talked about Raven's father as if Jinx should know him. Raven's father was an evil demon! While they knew Jinx was a magic user she had never struck any of them as the kind that dealt with demons. And what about this Flario person? And what curse had the bird been referring to.

"Jinx?" Robin said "What was he talking about? Who is Flario and what does he have to do with Raven? And what about this curse?" Dire scenarios involving Trigon and portals and fire demons were racing thru the Boy Wonder's head at an alarming rate.

"She never told you? Flario was Raven's dad. The Curse was actually my father's alias. They worked together until my dad died." Jinx replied unaware that she had just dropped a bombshell on the remaining Titans.

"HER DAD?" they all bellowed at once.

"Well, I guess it is understandable that she never told you. He was a Nazlar, so I guess it's not too surprising that she never mentioned it. Some people in the magic world are weird about Halfbloods. I kept telling her you guys would not mind but she never paid attention to me." Jinx went on.

"What? How? Huh? Her…Huh?" Beast Boy was completely at a loss. He just kept repeating short words. Finally he decided on "What is a Nazler?"

"Nazlar, not Nazler. They are…well…surely you've heard about magical races, right. Elves and dwarfs and things like that?" Nods all around "Well the Nazlar are a magical race. They kind of look like a mix of human and ram. They're supposed to be real aggressive. Anyway, Raven is a least half Nazlar, maybe even more than just half."

"What makes you say that?" Robin asked, doing his best not to sound like he did not believe her.

"Hellooooo!" Jinx said "How many girls with violet hair and eyes do you see running around? I mean naturally, not dyed or something? Only Nazlar have purple eyes and hair, and Raven is obviously not all Nazlar, or she would be taller, and she'd have hooves. And the grey skin is kind of a giveaway as well."

"How exactly did you learn this?" Cyborg asked.

"Well, I kind of bugged her unmercifully until she told me." Jinx admitted "She told me that her dad's name was Flario and that he was a Nazlar." Jinx shrugged "I remembered my mother telling me that that my one of my dad's friends was named Flario. So Raven and I kind of compared notes one day and we figured out that our fathers knew each other." Jinx shrugged again "It was kind of awkward knowing that and having to fight each other, but…"

The Titans looked at each other for a long moment. They knew that they needed to talk, mainly to Raven, but for right now…

"Could you and Kid Flash give us a minute?" Robin asked.

Kid Flash, who had barely said two words all day (an unusual occurrence) nodded and left. Jinx went to follow her partner, then turned and looked at the team.

"Look, I know it must be strange hearing that your friend is not all human, but don't act weird around her when we rescue her. Halfbloods get way to much garbage."

After the doors and swished closed the four remaining Titans huddled together in a confused and babbling knot. After a while Robin managed to calm them down.

"Alright, let's break this down and see if we can figure this out. Point one: we know for a fact that Trigon is Raven's real father, but for some reason she told Jinx some cock and bull tale about being half-Nazlar. The question is, why?"

"Robin what does cock and bull mean?" Starfire asked.

"Means a nonsense story." Cyborg said.

"Oh, then perhaps she told Jinx this lie because she did not want to explain that she was really Trigon's daughter?" Starfire said, even though it was more of a question that a statement.

"Very likely Star. Heck she was even scared to tell us and we are her best friends. I can bet she would not tell the whole story to someone who used to be an enemy." Cyborg nodded already accepting Starfire's explanation.

"But that doesn't explain why that ghost referred to Flario as Raven's father." Robin said "I thought ghosts were supposed to see all and know all. But if he did wouldn't he refer to Trigon as Raven's father?"

"Maybe not dude. Maybe they can be fooled." Beast Boy said "In any case I don't see why we are talking about this now. We still need to save Raven, and we won't do it by sitting here yapping."

"I agree." Robin said "But I think we will defiantly have to talk to Raven about this when she is home." Inside Robin was really fuming. The detective inside him hated being lied to, and somebody was defiantly lying to him. "Cyborg, start calling the other Titans and telling them the three locations. I want eyes on them 24-7. If anyone sees so much as a lightning bug I want to know about it. In fact we'll start heading for the library as soon as Cyborg is done."

Cyborg approached the computer and started dialing up the Titan's East. This time it was Speedy who responded, and he listened carefully. Since they were closer to Gotham than the other team Speedy took the liberty of volunteering them for that city.

Feeling happier now that something was being done, Cyborg tried dialing up another ally, but for some reason he got nothing but static. He tried someone else, and still nothing but static. Feeling slightly freaked Cyborg tried once more and got the same result. He tried every Titancom in the world and no one answered.

"Okaaaaay, this is weird." He said. He tried the Titans East again, and was met with static.

"MAN! Something wrong with my systems!" Cyborg bellowed "I can't get anyone on this darn thing!"

"Are you sure it's your systems?" Robin asked with a scary look.

"What else could it be?"

"Think for a moment. Think of the strange things that have been happening. When that crash happened back there Raven just flew past us, but she would never do that under normal circumstances. When I tried to contact her I just got static as well. Now we get the same static when we try to call for backup. I don't like it, it's too convenient."

"You think someone is jammin' the system?" Cyborg asked.

"Maybe, I don't know. I feel like we are being manipulated. I feel like someone is pulling our strings. I don't like it at all." Robin said.

"What do we do?" Beast Boy asked.

Robin thought for a moment. He thought long and hard. Then he spoke "We go ahead with the plan. We'll be spread thin, but we have to make due. Starfire, you take Jinx and Kid Flash and watch the Rocky Mountains, while Cyborg, Beast Boy and I go to the library. Star if you carry Jinx and Kid Flash runs you should get there by nightfall. We'll park the T-Ship in front of library as well. If someone sees that wizard at any location try to call the others. If you get static again don't try to take Sumal in, just grab Raven and run. Understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Titans Go!"

Raven had no idea how long she spent in that smell old cell. It was long enough for her to start feeling very hungry. She had not had anything to eat since last night, and not even she could last on just one cup of herbal tea. In fact she was starting to feel a bit weak from hunger, and that was not a good sign at all. Nor was the sound she was starting to hear. She heard the thumping of rock feet coming toward her. She felt a lump forming in her throat and a nauseated sensation in her stomach. She wanted to crawl under the bed of straw and hide, but she did not act upon this emotion. Sure she was afraid, she would have been an idiot not to be scared, but she refused to let the fear control her.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos" She muttered, trying to keep herself calm. Panic would not help the situation at all. It worked. The urge to cower in a corner and beg for mercy faded. She was still afraid, but she did not let it control her.

Two golems, Raven couldn't tell if they were the same two as before, entered the cell. She glared at them, but did not make any attempt to run. The monsters had completely blocked the door. Just as before they grabbed her arms and started dragging her out of the cell and down the hall. She did not fight, but that did not mean she had lost hope. She had a feeling this was a pocket dimension, and if so than that meant that they would have to go to Earth to perform any rituals.

She hoped they would land close to Jump city.

Her suspicions about the pocket dimension were confirmed when she saw her captor casting a portal spell. He finished just as his golems dragged Raven into the room. Her heart sank as she saw what else was in the room. Twenty golems, each one identical to the last. He expected a rescue attempt, and he was going prepared. Not only that but he had that book with him as well. As he turned to look at her Raven did the only thing that made sense to her at the moment.

She spat in his face.

He did not flinch or scream at her, he just pulled out a cloth from somewhere and fixed his face. He gestured at the golems and turned toward the portal with the rock monsters following him. Raven felt a tingling sensation as they passed through the portal.

Wherever they were it was dark. And starry. And…mountainous. They were in the mountains somewhere.

Raven's heart sank. They were probably no where near Jump city. Help was probably a thousand miles away.

For the first time she felt her hope leave her completely. Now, she knew, she was probably doomed.

Starfire flew over the mountains with Jinx in her hands, constantly scanning the ground for a sign of the rock formation that the ghost bird had spoken of. She had not seen anything like what he had described yet, and this was making her nervous. What if they did not make it in time? What if her dear friend Raven would be killed? If that man had hurt her friend Starfire would be sure to make him pay! She knew that killing was illegal on this world, but at the moment she did not care all that much. She would prefer not to hurt anyone, but in a situation like this…

Raven was one of Starfire's closest friends, almost as close as Robin (but didn't her relationship with Robin go a bit deeper than friendship, yes it did). Despite the fact that Starfire had been doing her best to fit in this odd world she was still a Tamaranian warrior at heart, and they never let their friends go unavenged.

"Hey, did you see that!?" Jinx suddenly piped up.

"See what?"

"Over there, to the right! I see something flashing! I think it might be magical!"

The two of them had been scanning the southern part of this great mountain range, while Kid Flash had been zipping around the northern part. Now Starfire turned right and saw the same thing Jinx had seen. Odd brightly colored flashes.

"We should investigate." Starfire said.

"Just make sure we aren't seen. Don't want to give away the element of surprise." Jinx said.

Starfire agreed, and swooped down and low as she could without bumping Jinx on the ground. Soon they were close enough to walk, actually sneak, the rest of the way. While Starfire was the second lest stealthy Titan next to Cyborg she did know a thing or two about keeping her head down, and on a night this dark it was very easy. But Jinx was easily an expert in that department. Even thought Starfire knew that the other girl was close she could not detect Jinx at all. The former thief was apparently an expert in the field of stealth, probably all that training in the H.I.V.E.

The two of them peered over some rocks and found what they were looking for. A circle of stones on a large flat cliff. In the center was the wizard who had abducted Raven. The evil book was in front of him on a wooden stand he obviously brought with him from somewhere. He was chanting and gesturing, and the bright sparks were flying everywhere. Right behind him was Raven herself, held between two living rock creatures. A type of robot maybe? In Starfire's experience many villains employed robots in their schemes, but these seemed different. Oh well, it did not matter now, but what did matter was the fact that a small army of them were converged behind the two that were holding Raven.

Starfire felt someone gasp in horror. She looked over at Jinx and saw that the other girl was trembling in terror. Starfire was confused. She had fought both against and with Jinx before, but never had she seen the sorceress look anything other than completely confidant.

"I don't believe it, he's actually doing it. The idiot! Doesn't he know what he's unleashing?" Jinx whispered.

"Friend Jinx, what-" Starfire started, but stopped when he saw the man approach Raven.

With a knife.

Starfire was about to leap in and save her friend, but Jinx pulled her back. Starfire's eyes glowed green in fury.

"Hold on." Jinx said.

"He will kill her!"

"No, not yet." Jinx replied.

Starfire was about to just blast Jinx and make a grab for Raven, but stopped when she saw the look in Jinx's eyes. She knew something, and Starfire knew from experience that when dealing with magic it was best to listen to the magic users.

Starfire watched as the man with the knife poked Raven in the arm and colleted a few drops of blood from his victim. He then went back to his book, still chanting.

Jinx relaxed a bit.

"Remember this, Starfire; it is always best to attack a wizard when he is deep into a spell casting. They have to use a lot of concentration for this kind of thing."

"I thought that this ritual required a human sacrifice?" Starfire asked, puzzled.

"The summoning itself does not require a life, but what comes after does."

"I do not understand Jinx."

"The thing he is summoning, a child of Yog- Sothoth, thrives off the blood of humans. What he is doing is a type of bargaining summon. First he summons the monster, then he offers it a human to eat. If the monster accepts and eats the offering then the summoner gets a lifetime's worth of service from the creature."

Starfire stared at Jinx in horror. "That is horrible! It is monstrous!"

"Yeah," Jinx nodded "It's the worst type of dark magic there is. We have to stop it before that thing comes out! It's not just about Raven anymore. If a child of Yog-Sothoth gets loose in the world then we won't have a problem, we'll have an impending disaster!"

"What do we do?"

"Try calling the others"

A pause, then "Just the static again, Jinx."

Jinx cursed, and then made a decision. "Starfire, fly around a bit and see if you can get better reception. I'll go out there and get Raven."

Starfire wanted to argue, but if she did precious time would be wasted. She took off and started attempting to communicate with her friends.

Jinx took a deep breath, then started slowly sneaking toward Raven and the two golems that had her. She used every sneaky trick she knew, and they worked like charms. The fact that golems are as dumb as, well rocks helped her greatly in her attempt as well. Finally she managed to get in a position almost directly across from Raven and the golems. Summoning her own powers she threw several hex bolts in rapid succession at the two rock creatures. Her aim was true, and the two were reduced to two piles of pebbles in an instant. Raven fell to the ground. She seemed dazed for a moment, then jumped up and started running to where Jinx was standing.

Jinx noticed three things, one bad and one very bad and one of disaster proportions. The first thing was that the golem pebbles started rocking, then sprang up into about ten more golems. The second thing was that the golem army turned towards Jinx and Raven and started lumbering toward them

The third thing was the fact that Sumal's chanting had reached a crescendo. Yet another portal was opened in front of him. For a moment Jinx saw a terrible landscape of what looked like an ocean of black ooze. Then darkness coved the portal and something started crawling out. Black tentacles waved in the air as if searching for something to snag.

Jinx had seen enough. It was bad enough reading about these things, it was much worse to see it in person. For most of her life Jinx had never known fear, but now she did.

Jinx, who was one of the most courageous people in the world, fled in terror from the thing that was slithering out of the portal. She could hear Raven running behind her, but that only registered for a moment. The sounds of running feet were eclipsed by the howling and roaring of the monster behind them.

Worse yet, it was gaining.

Finally Starfire had managed to contact the other Titans at the library and the Titans East in Gotham. But she could not contact Kid Flash, so she had gone looking for him. She knew that they would need everyone. After about ten minutes she had found the speed demon and was leading him to the site.

In the distance she saw three of the five sections of the T-Ship heading in the direction of the coordinates she had sent. They had spotted her as well. They landed in a clearing just a little bit away from the site.

Beast Boy shot from his mini-ship with a determined look on his green face.

"Where is she?!" He demanded without preamble.

Just then Jinx came dashing up, a look of pure panic on her face. Kid Flash was flabbergasted. He had never seen such a look of terror on his partner's face. It scared him more than anything else that could have happened that day.

Beast Boy grabbed Jinx around the shoulders and asked his question again.

Jinx looked behind her and groaned.

"She was right behind me! Oh no, it must have gotten her!"

"WHAT?" Beast Boy bellowed "Where is this thing?"

For a moment he thought that Jinx was not going to answer. Then she seemed to swallow her fear. She looked at Beast Boy square in the eyes and said:

"Follow me."

Everyone noticed that she was still shaking, but no one said a word.

Raven had followed Jinx as best she could, but she just could not keep up. She had used her powers for transportation for so long, but now she had to depend entirely on her body. However, she might have made it to safety, if not for the tree branch. The thing might have been put there on purpose (and who is to say it had not been?). Whatever the case she tripped over the thing, and her ankle twisted in an awkward manner.

She tried to get up, but shearing pain shot threw her leg. She could not move it an inch. She was afraid it was broken.

Raven opened her mouth to call out for help, but then she felt a long slimly tentacle wrap around her neck. It squeezed and she felt tiny teeth digging into her neck as she started gagging. More tentacles snaked around the rest of her body, and the monster started dragging her back into the darkness.

Another Authors note: Anyone want to guess what the monster is? Heck try to guess the short story it debuted in. (and it aen't one of mine). Here's a hint: Lovecraft. I really do read too much of that stuff. Oh, just in case: I do not own Teen Titans or anything Lovecrafty (is that a word? Well it is now.)

One last thing, since it is that session: Merry Christmas

And BAH HUMBUG. (Hey, someone has to say it!)