Again, I update later than I planned, but this chapter went in a way I did not expect, though I do like it. The story should be wrapped up in the next chapter or two, after which I'll probably take a deep breath, scream, and start a long overdue RobRae story of about this length. And perhaps a sequel to this, if I can figure one out. Also, I sometimes update this story faster on fanlib, if you want to check me out there. The more, the merrier!

Disclaimer - If I owned Teen Titans, I'd update faster, as I'd be being paid to do it. And Raven would never be without an admirer.

The Power Of The Sea -

Heroes And Villain

Raven immediately twisted so that she could see Aqualad

Raven immediately twisted so that she could see Aqualad. He was at the mouth of the cave, glaring icily at Trident. The empath glanced up; if he took only a few steps more, a concealed net would fall on him, giving Trident the moments he needed to get him into the cage, rendering him helpless.

"Don't move!" she yelled, gathering magic in one hand as quickly as possible while holding her breath. Aqualad instinctively took a step towards her, but then stopped as she had said. The orb was quickly filling up with water, and it was taking all the self control that Raven had not to lose control and scream. However, the terror was visible in her eyes, and the young hero could not stand there and watch. As he leapt towards it, the orb burst, dropping a soaked, gasping, but very much alive Raven to the cave floor. He was just about to ask her how she was when he heard a whooshing sound, and glanced up to see a net falling down on him. He hadn't the time to escape it, so he braced himself for the impact, which never came. Confused, he looked up again, only to see that the net was being held inches above his head by Raven's dark powers. A second later, it was flung against Trident, who had been making his way towards Aqualad. The villain grunted angrily, trying to untangle himself, but the male Titan ignored him, instead running straight to Raven.

"Are you alright?" he asked, gripping her arms and looking into her eyes, searching for anything that might tell him the answer, "He didn't hurt you, did he? If he did –"

"I'm okay," the girl interrupted, with a trace of a smile, "Thanks to you. Without your training, I would have lost control and drowned just getting here."

Aqualad let go of her arms, then, with a moment's hesitation, wrapped his arms protectively around her, pulling her close.

"Good," he murmured, smiling back at her, not breaking eye contact, "I knew you could do it. It's not exactly how I would have wanted to prove you could be brave when surrounded by water, but you did it."

A light crimson covered the girl's cheeks, and she lowered her eyes slightly, avoiding his intense gaze.

"I had to do it," she said quietly, "He was going to trap you, make you powerless, and do horrible things. I couldn't let that happen."

The lad felt as though something warm had been released in his chest, pumped through his heart, and circulated through his whole body. Raven did it for him? Gently, he took a hand and ran it under her chin, tilting it upwards. Their faces were close, almost touching. Summoning some Titan courage, Aqualad leaned down, his lips millimeters away from hers, their breath mixing – suddenly, just before their lips were to meet, a blinding light came through the cave, and a beam hit them, throwing the two apart and against the walls. Blinking, Aqualad looked for the source and saw him, grinning and walking closer, weapon in hand.

Trident.

In the midst of finding Raven, he had forgotten all about his foe, not thinking to take his weapon, which had been used to free him from the net. The villain grinned at him, deranged.

"Never underestimate your foe," he growled, pointing the trident at the male Titan, then swinging it to point at the girl, who was unsteadily picking herself up, clearly feeling the effects of the beam, "I did and she escaped. But as you did the same with me, it looks like we're even."

Seeing the direction the weapon was pointed, Aqualad lunged for it, causing it to go off to the side of Raven, narrowly missing her.

"Let go, fool – you cannot defeat Trident!" roared the villain, trying to keep control of the device. Every so often, one of them would make it go off, usually on accident. Chunks of rocks started to rain from the cave's ceiling, and only Raven's powers kept them from getting hit. As much as she would have loved to smash Trident with one, he and Aqualad were battling too closely for that, as she could not get in a shot that would not potentially harm the Titan. Not liking the role of onlooker, the empath thought hard, trying to come up with a way to help her friend.

If I can't try to hit Trident with rocks or my magic, and if I get too close I'll be more of a hazard than help, what can I do? she thought furiously, still keeping the falling rocks from hitting anyone, Any way to give Aqualad the advantage?

She glared at the weapon that they were struggling over, then had an idea.

If Trident doesn't have his weapon, then that should put him at the disadvantage! Plus, the fight might not be as close range, so I can join in, she decided, carefully drawing magic to her hands, then concentrating hard to send it to the object that was being fought over. It encased the weapon, though the two fighters didn't seem to notice. With a quick motion, she caused the magic to snap it in half. However, she did not know that it was being shot at that moment, so the energy inside of the trident shot out from the severed edges, causing the greatest quaking of the cave. Chunks of the ceiling were falling everywhere, including near where she was standing. One grazed her, pushing her so that she toppled to the front of the cave, took one wrong step, and fell back into the sea. More and more of the cave collapsed, covering the entrance, trapping Aqualad and Trident in a stone tomb, and Raven in the cold, unrelenting sea.

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