A/N: I'm just going to sit back and laugh manically for a few seconds. Enjoy and everyone thank you truly for the reviews. I've been waiting a long time to write the next two chapters so you better enjoy them. Peace.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, but hey, I think we all knew that already

Trying To Do the Right Thing

Chapter 22

By: Finalitylife

Trigon breathed heavily upon his release of his destructive power, the great demon lord having trouble catching his breath though he couldn't help but realize he was breathing in the air of this dimension...air that was slowly being contaminated with sulfur and brimstone. Trigon took a few slow, heavy footsteps forward, the ground cracking and groaning beneath his incredible bulk. He growled deeply at the weariness that ravaged his massive, red-skinned body.

For the first time in so very long, he was free...free once more to decimate the dimensions of mortals for his own twisted desires, however his freedom had come at a temporary cost. His escape from the dimension that he had been locked away in had taken an incredibly amount of himself, the separation from the place he had resided in so long had left him with only a fraction of his vaunted power.

Trigon had used much of his remaining power upon his release to destroy the planet in which he was freed upon. He wanted to ensure that no one would survive to oppose him in his weakened state, despite him knowing there were none strong enough on this planet to even remotely bother him.

Trigon reached his destination and collapsed against the T-shaped structure, embedding his body into, his arms hanging weakly against the out stretched sides of the tower. This place would act as his throne, a final disgrace to those who chose to fight against him...to his worthless daughter, whatever could be let of her. Anyone who would have looked upon Trigon as he sat, the way his arms were outstretched, the way his head hung limply against the T, one would have gotten the feeling of seeing some twisted, unholy crucifixion rather than the resting place of the most malevolent and evil being to ever come into existence.

Trigon closed his four burning eyes for a second before they suddenly snapped back open, thinning ever so slightly in a demonic glare. He sensed...life. He clenched his teeth in the closest thing he could come to shock. Four mortals still existed on this charred, burning Hell of a planet and Trigon easily recognized them as the four who had stood beside his daughter. He somehow knew his portal was responsible for this occurrence...some futile last attempt at refusing her destiny.

His clenched jaw slowly moved into a sinister grin. He knew that these creatures had nowhere near the power to destroy him even in his weakened state and none knew or wielded the magic to seal him away once more. His smile increased just a little more, almost to look like he was smiling in happiness. These mortals...they would provide him the first true entertainment he would have in an eternity. Dark laughter echoed across an entire planet...the population of the world now encased forever in stone unable to hear it...though a few unfortunate, surviving souls cursed to hear something so terrible.

Robin P.O.V:

I could clearly feel the unending flame as it tried to eat the flesh from my bones, could feel the raw, unrelenting heat as it sought to turn me to ash, however never once did I truly feel Hellfire. I was never once touched, none of us were. A barrier of familiar black energy was surrounding all of the Titans, protecting them fully from the wrath of Trigon yet what was shocking was that the energy was flowing from each of our bodies.

As quickly as the wall of flame was created, it was gone, moving past us to continue its path of unrelenting destruction across the world. The black energy dissipated around us, once again exposing us to the now corrupted and destroyed environment of what was once a beautiful blue planet. Everything...everything was simply destroyed, the air thick and burning against my throat as I drew breathe, rivers of lava replacing what was once crystal blue water, and the sky was now burning red. The world was now dead...yet the Titans still lived. I clenched my fists as my body tensed up. Four of the Titans were still alive...and the fifth...I didn't know.

I turned to look at the other three Titans, each in an obvious state of shock. Cyborg's eyes, one human, one machine, continued to scan the surroundings, a grim look across his face. Beast Boy would occasionally lift his head to stare at the chaos only to flinch before looking back at the ground. Starfire, the only one of us who was not born to his planet, had tears in her eyes, her arms wrapped tightly around her body, a utter look of devastation on her face. It was painful to look upon.

"Is everyone alight?" No one responded though I really didn't expect one. Everyone was physically fine, I could easily see that much, but emotionally...spiritually we were all broken. The world was gone, Trigon was unleashed, and Raven...Raven was...I shook the thoughts out of my head. She was alive...she had to be. I would never accept anything else. She left enough of her power in us to protect us from her Father's attack and I knew in my heart she would have never helped us to live if this...all this around me was all we would ever see...all we would ever endure again. She saved us because this was not over...she left her hope with me and I would not relent until I gave it back to her.

I looked up to find Starfire no more than a foot in front of me, her eyes settled deeply on me, her body shaking noticeably. I could see the tears starting to roll down her cheek. I followed my heart. I pulled her into an embrace and she immediately started to sob, her face buried into my shoulder near my neck, her arms wrapped tightly around me. I simply just held on as best I could.

"Its not fair Robin...its not fair. Why did such a beautiful world have to be destroyed? Why did Raven had to leave us? Why did she have to die?" She started crying even harder, her grip almost becoming painful though I wasn't exactly registering the pain. The words she spoke, Raven...die...it was painful to hear.

I resolved myself against that possible reality and gentle pushed Starfire away so that I could look in her in the eyes, my one hand taking hold of one of hers, my other hand gently tilted her head up, a scene that reminded me greatly of one we had what seemed like so long ago in the kitchen of the Titans tower. I think it was the last time I truly held Starfire. Her eyes finally refocused on my own.

"Star...this is not over. Raven...Raven is not gone. She simply can not be gone because she would never leave all of us...not like this. We will find her Star...we will find her and the world will go back to the way it was...a warm, beautiful place where we can all be together." I could feel Starfire's eyes burning intensity at that moment and her other hand reached up and gently wiped a few errant strands of hair from my forehead.

"You need to find her do you not Robin...you have much to tell her..." Her head lowered just a little. "I understand..." She knew...she knew. Again I went with my heart. I pulled Starfire into another hug and whispered into her ear.

"You're right Star...I can't deny that but you...I need you here to Star. I couldn't live without you by my side either. I love you Star, you're one of the best friends I could ever dream of having." A small sound escaped Starfire's lips.

"I think...I think I can live with that. I love you deeply as well...friend Robin." We clung to each other for a silent moment within the apocalyptic wasteland, and we simple were. Eventually Starfire pulled away from me with a small smile on her face though a few tears still holding within her emerald eyes.

"Let us find Raven now." I smiled a warm smile as well and was about to respond but someone beat me to it, someone I didn't want to hear at this moment or any other moment for the rest of my existence, however long that would be.

"I do hate to interrupt this moment but I would have to agree with your assessment. It would be best to find my former employers daughter...well whatever is left of her that is." I was certain everyone around me saw red at the sound of Slade's voice and my voice almost sounded inhuman to me as I growled out his name. Starfire was the first to attack, her righteous fury burning bright. Slade made no effort to move.

Starbolts slammed into his standing form followed up by a devastating punch using all the superior strength of the Tamaranian beauty who simply put, was pissed off. Slade crashed into the tattered remains of a building side. Beast Boy followed up by charging in as a rhino, crushing the bastard even further into the wall, a few resounding crunches from the wall as well as his body being heard. Cyborg charged up his sonic cannon, pouring a lot of power into it and targeted Slade.

"You're going to pay for all of this you son of a bitch. I am going to take your damn head off."

"Cyborg...Stop!" Everyone turned to me, confusion in their eyes, anger still on their faces. I repeated my order again though their looks still had not changed.

"Why!"

"Because as much as I hate to admit it, I know him Cy, and if he was here to fight, we would be in a lot more trouble. He has made no effort to attack us and that means he is here for something else. Isn't that right Slade?" I glared over at the man who was slowly standing up to his feet, his body cracking itself back into his. He arrogantly dusted himself off and I wondered if I was doing the right thing.

"You are quite astute as always Robin. I am here for something else. I am here to propose a deal...an alliance if you will against our common enemy." Beast Boy was the one to yell out.

"Our enemy? You were the one working for him. You are just as responsible for this as he is."

"That would be correct but is an irrelevant point for the moment. What matters now is survival, and we have a better chance of surviving working together." No one made a sound, everyone, including Slade, waiting for me to say something.

"What do you have to offer Slade...what are you bringing to the table?" The three other Titans looked over at me, a slight questioning gaze in their eyes though they held their tongues, letting their trusted leader handle this.

"I bring with me knowledge, a plan, and a special gift to help make it all happen." I know he was smiling confidently under his damned mask.

"Let's here it Slade. What do you have planned?"

"Trigon is free, that is simply fact. However, he is also very weak right now, susceptible to defeat though only for a short time as his incredible power continues to return with every passing moment." Cyborg spoke up.

"Well then what are we waiting for. Let's just go kick his ass before he recovers." Slade waved a dismissive hand toward Cyborg as if he was dealing with an idiot child.

"He is still stronger than us, but there is one that remains who may be stronger. It is her we must find."

"Raven."

"Correct Robin. Her mission to become the portal is complete, the cursed daughter of Trigon is no more, yet a part of her still endures, refused to perish along with that part of her. She may be the key to defeating Trigon and surviving all of this." Another moment of silence before I responded.

"What is the plan Slade?" Again I knew he was smiling at how easily I was going along with all of this.

"I know where she may be and I am willing to lead one of you to her."

"May I ask why only one of us?"

"Trigon is weakened though he is not blind. He is all-seeing when he wants to be and I am sure he has noticed your living presences by now. Three of you need to distract him, draw his gaze away from me and one other so that we can get to our destination without him and his demon hordes coming after us."

"It would be blatant suicide for only three of my team members to go up against him for the time that will be needed to do all of this." I gave Slade a slightly cocky grin of my own.

"I imagine you have something to help with this little problem." Slade did not miss a beat.

"Of course. He extended his hand with his palm raised up, a small golden ring with red markings visible in it."

"This is the Ring of Azar, forged by the one survivor of the imprisonment of Trigon, the mentor of your Raven. Even I am unsure of how it ended up on this planet but it was most fortunate to end up in my possession. It will grant the one who wears it vast protective power from the wrath of Trigon, and should give you weaklings a chance to succeed in your mission." Everyone stared at the tiny ring in a slight sense of awe though I quickly broke it. I walked confidently forward and took it from Slade's hand. His gaze met mine as I did so. I walked back over to the Titans who all were staring at me with curious faces.

"I will be the one going with Slade to find Raven and I promise you all I will bring her back in one piece." It looked like everyone wanted to protest for a second but they didn't. I took Starfire's hand, who was looking at the ground, and closed her fist around the ring.

"I entrust our best hope to you Starfire. Please be safe. Please all of you be safe." Cyborg and Beast Boy placed hands on my shoulders and Starfire looked up with a smile on her face. We all simply stared at each other for a moment, the same small smiles reserved only for each other. The moment was finally broken by Slade's commanding voice.

"Robin! Come!" My head snapped around to find Slade already on his way. I gave everyone once last glance before running after Slade, running to find what I had lost.

Slade and I walked through the barren landscape, every sight the same. All the people with horror locked on their face trapped in stone the same way Terra was. It was a chilling sight. I followed a few feet behind Slade, never once taking my eyes off of him, a nagging question within my mind. I finally stopped and Slade took a few more steps forward before he realized I wasn't moving.

"Something on your mind boy." It was a statement, not a question.

"I know you Slade, I know you far too well, and I know there's something else here. You claim this is about survival, but its always something more with you, always something lying beneath the surface...behind the mask if you will. What is it Slade? What is it that you are after?" Slade slowly turned around, his arms locked behind his back just like always, his one eye locking on to me.

"You are correct Robin though I have come to expect such from you. There is always something more."

It was about twenty minutes later and several hundred feet into the Earth that we finally came to the bottom of this twisted landscape. The temperature was incredible though it seemed to not bother Slade at all, though I did my best to longer look upon him. We arrived at a small wooden boat sitting quietly in a river of flame. Slade started talking with amusement in his voice, one of the few times I had truly heard such a thing in his voice that didn't involve victory against the Titans.

"Looks like it is time to cross the River Styx. Are you up to the challenge my boy. This is a once in a lifetime experience." I did not respond but only stepped into the creaky boat, a small part of me expecting to fall right through the bottom into the inferno, a small part of me wanting too. Slade stepped in as well and started pushing the boat along, neither of us saying anything. Another few minutes passed and that is when I heard it...the screams of the damned. The flames around us started moving around with wills of their own and soon formed into the fire demons that Slade once commanded, a few dozen of them now confronting us in a very bad spot. There was very little land around us and the boat would never survive a single strike from their fiery limps.

Slade and I simultaneously extended our bo staffs.

"That is where we are going." Slade pointed toward a dimly lit cave entrance on the other side of the fire monsters.

"Well then let's getting moving. I don't think there is much left for this boat." Our sudden moves had caused the rickety boat to begin to break apart. We were both off and moving, jumping threw the air landing at the same time on the nearest chunk of rock. The demons converged on us.

The horribly disturbing fact that I was fighting so well and coordinated side by side with Slade was not missed by me despite the danger and there were moments I found myself being unable to concentrate on the task at hand, my mind bogged down on other things. I felt a chill through my body despite the unrelenting heat though I pushed it back into me. Finally, we defeated the last monster and landed on the ledge of where we had been fighting toward.

"That was fun. Exactly as it was always meant to be Robin, don't you agree." I could not make myself retort. Out of nowhere, one last demon appeared, emerging from the wall next to Slade. It lashed out, striking Slade in the face, his mask going flying, him stumbling back. With barely any movement, my bo staff was flying, ripping right through the monster, the staff stabbing into the stone wall. The energy holding the creature together dissipated, it becoming no more.

I looked over at Slade and found my blood turn completely cold, except for a continuing burning sensation in my hand. Here I was, the first opportunity to stare upon the concealed face of my greatest enemy, to finally see who he was truly was yet that was not to be. Staring back at me was a skinless, fleshless grinning skull, a single glowing red eye the only sign of anything living, the other socket empty though a jagged red scar crossed over it.

"What the hell are you?" I managed to choke it out as Slade gave me once last look before picking back up his mask and securing it back over his face.

"It is only a minor inconvenience Robin, nothing to worry about." He pointed toward one rocky path that went off to the right.

"It is time I keep my end of the bargain. Down that path you will find what you are looking for. I wish you luck boy."

"What...you aren't coming with me Slade?" A small chuckle.

"I have another path to walk right now, one that goes deeper still. I have to go get what I was originally promised by that treacherous demon and I truly do intend to hold him to our agreement."

"I hope you don't make it back Slade." We locked glares, eye to eyes.

"I know Robin but I never fail in getting what I desire. Good Bye for now." With that he turned around and walked off, heading down further into Hell. I shook the chills from my body and sprinted down the path he had directed me down as fast as I could. It was time I found Raven.

Eventually I found what I knew was the place I was looking for. Up ahead, a darkened, broken church stood, a church I recognized all too well. This had to be the place, there could be no doubt. I carefully walked in, the doors hanging broken from the hinges, providing no hindrance. The place was dark, dirty, and dead and I could not find any sign of my blue cloaked Raven. Had this all been for nothing? Had Slade betrayed me and simply used me to help get him to his destination? I shook my head. No, Slade had not been lying. I knew it.

I caught a quick movement of white out of the corner of my eye, almost barely noticeable but it was there. In a flash I was at the spot where I had seen it. I moved an overturned bench and let out a small gasp. Huddled underneath, clad completely in a white leotard and cloak was a small little girl, no possibly older than 8 years old. She looked up at me with large, terrified amethyst eyes, quivering in fear and I only could say one name.

"Raven..." She flinched back in fear at the sound of my voice and I felt my heart soften at the sight. Slade had not been lying. The daughter to Trigon was no more because this...this child could never have a piece of that thing within her. I slowly squatted down with the most gentle, kind, and nonthreatening smile I could muster.

"Hi there. I'm not here to hurt you little one. I'm here to help you. Do you know who I am?" The little girl peaked out from her cloak which she had pulled over her head to cover herself. I watched as she tentatively shook her head no and I felt my heart break ever so slightly.

"That's okay. My name is Robin. I'm one of the good guys. I'm hear to protect you from all the monsters. You don't like the monsters do you." The young child again shook her head no, quivering a little bit more.

"Well I promise I won't let them near you ever again if you come with me. Do you want to come with me little one?" Her face was completely uncertain, her tiny body shivering even in the extreme heat of this place but she did meekly nod her head yes. My smile grew as large as it could.

"That's a good girl." I reached out my right hand very slowly as not to startle her.

"Come then little one. Let's get you out of this place. There are more people I want you to meet. They are also good people like me and I know they would just love to have a sweet little girl like you as their friend." I smiled as I caught the smallest of blushes on her pale cheeks and she reluctantly took my hand. Feeling her small hand in mine was the only good feeling I had truly had since I left the Titans side, since I left beside Slade.

Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg approached the resting form of Trigon, incredible fear within them. They had fought several fire demons on the way here though thanks to the ring, the monsters were simply blasted from existence the second they got to close. That fact gave them the slightest bit of confidence that they would survive all this, or at the very least long enough for Robin to come back with Raven. Finally, Trigon seemed to take notice of the three mortals who had dared to approach him. His eyes opened and focused on them, fear creeping through every limb of the Titans, real and robotic.

"Oh it is you. Come to try and defeat me I see. Idiotic beings. Begone!" With an incredible bellow, a blast of red energy erupted from Trigon's four eyes aimed directly at the Titans. They didn't even have time to move though in the end, they didn't need to. The blast was intercepted by a barrier of energy provided by the ring and the Titans barely even noticed the shockwave of the impact from the two energies meeting. They couldn't help but smile as Trigon raised a curious eyebrow as he noticed the red markings burning on the ring worn by the red headed one.

"Interesting...most interesting. I see you have somehow obtained the Ring of Azar. It does not matter. Its power can not protect you forever from me and it most certainly can not protect you from yourselves." Trigon barely flicked a hand from where he sat and a stream of black energy was formed screaming toward the three Titans. Again they didn't move, expecting the power of the ring to protect them. It did not. The black energy was not met by resistance and hit Starfire directly in the chest. It passed right through her into Cyborg and then into Beast Boy and they all let out screams of pain. When they finally all looked up, there own confused eyes were met by the cold eyes of themselves.

My hand remained tightly within the small hand of the child I had found in the depths of the Earth within the hallowed out husk of a church. It had been the same church where I had begged a God who did not listen to give me the strength to protect Raven. This child...was it Raven? I believed it was...well at least a part of her. This was the innocent child that never existed because of a dark destiny that had been there since the moment she was born. This was a Raven who was finally free of the unrelenting taint of the purest evil. This was Raven and I would ensure that she would get back to her family in one piece. She had said she had given me her hope for the future...and if this...this child was her future...then I would ensure its survival.

I continued our trek through the bowels of the flaming dominion of the fire beasts, doing my best to keep to the shadows to avoid any detection. I didn't want to fight with little Raven around because it would be hard to protect her if I was busy fighting off the onslaught of demons. As far as I could tell, this Raven had no memory of her time with the Titans...had no memory of who she was and no powers as well. She was vulnerable in many ways so I did not expect her help in any fighting.

We passed through another narrow space and entered into a wider open space, that resembled more of a dark cavern. It was the first place I had found that had not been ungodly hot, dominated by fire and streams of magma. It had a strange coldness to it, a coldness that seemed to cut directly into my core. I took a few tentative steps into it, making sure little Raven was protectively behind me, sensing something wrong, and then...then I realized what I was looking at. This room...this place...it was identical to the place from my nightmares. Cold rocky ground giving way to endlessly dark crevices in the Earth with absolutely no sign of a bottom and the atmosphere...the frightening and eerie atmosphere...there was no doubt...this was the place.

How I wondered, how was it possible that a place born within my own fearful mind could exist in the real world...exist here at this exact place and this exact moment. As if my thoughts were being broadcasted to the world, my answer came. The deep rumbling shook the entire area and little Raven let out a fearful squeak as she wrapped her small arms around me, burying her face in my body, trembling ever so slightly. It was then that I realized the rumbling was in fact deep, dark laughter...the laughter of Trigon.

"Foolish...foolish mortal. Did you really think I did not notice you? Did you really think my all-seeing eyes would not have gazed upon your futile effort to find what is left of my portal? You creatures truly are amusing to me...thinking you can oppose me, thinking you can defeat me." Little Raven continued to tremble against me, her arms somehow finding a way to grip me even tighter, reminding me of one of Starfire's over enthusiastic hugs. As for me...I had no idea what to do at this moment. I had been caught and I really had no plan for this particular contingency. Of course it seemed Trigon had ideas of his own.

"You are familiar to me mortal. The darkness within you reminds me of my former minion Slade. I find it hard a being such as you would even care for the well being of that shell of my daughter." I found myself growling at the monsters accusations.

"I am nothing like Slade. Do you hear me! Nothing!" An amused laugh.

"Do not think to question me mortal. I can see you clearly for what you truly are...what you were willing to do to get this far. I guess I will only have to prove my point...it is time to die mortal but first, you will amuse me." I felt like their was electricity suddenly in the air and I heard a terrible shrieking sound. I searched for the source of the sound but due to the echo in the area I could not identify where it was coming from.

Suddenly, I spotted a stream of black energy coming straight at me and acting on instinct, I pushed little Raven away from me so that she would not be hit. The energy hit me and passed straight through me body. As it did, I could feel incredible pain through every inch of my body, as if it was literally trying to rip itself apart. I let out a scream as I collapsed to my knees but just as quickly as the pain came, it was gone. I gained my breath back and looked up at Raven who was staring worriedly at me. She had crawled over toward me while I continued to try and regain my composure.

I was surprised when she latched onto my side with a soft hug and I couldn't help but smile at the innocent act by the child.

"Its okay Raven. I'm okay." I gently pried her arms off of me and stood up. I extended my hand to help her up when I suddenly felt something...or someone. I gave Raven a look that told her not to move and I started scanning the surroundings, trying to stay as defensive around Raven as possible. Out of nowhere, fire sprang up from the ground between the small distance that was between me and Raven. As if having a will of is own, the fire twisted and turned until it had formed into a flaming cage around the terrified little girl, trapping her within.

I stared in a slight state of shock at the occurrence though my mind quickly went to work on how to free Raven from a prison of fire. I had never had to deal with anything like this.

I barely saw the attack coming. Only by bending back at an almost impossible angle did I avoid the flash of red. I shot back up to a standing position as a few strands of my spiked black hair fell to the ground. I felt my entire body tense up, getting into a defensive stance as I looked for the attacker. That attack had been fast...incredibly fast.

"Too slow. This will be easier than I thought." A instantly recognized the voice as my own distorted voice.

"That's not possible."

"Oh but it is, very possible in fact." Emerging out of thin air came a dark clothed villain with a twisted skull mask over his face and more importantly, a zinothium power core around his waist. I had no idea how he had gotten the belt back...how he was even alive.

"Red X. I knew I was always right about you. Did you make a deal with Trigon to get your precious belt back? Did you sell your soul for more power?" A electronically distorted laugh.

"You don't seem to understand what your dealing with here now do you. I am not Red X, well the Red X you think I am. I am greater than he for I am the original and the original is always better than the pretenders." I found my eyes go wide.

"But I was the original Red X. You can't possibly mean..."

"Bingo. I am you Robin. I am the darkness that you try to pretend isn't there. I am the rush you felt when you were a thief, the smile you got from wielding this incredible power, and the enjoyment you got from attacking your friends though you never will admit it." I only managed to shake my head.

"No...none of that's true...I'm not you...Red X was a mistake." Another distorted laugh that I couldn't help but realize truly sounded like my own.

"I was no mistake. I was the truth." I gritted my teeth as I stared upon the mockery of myself as I extended my bo staff, ready to defend myself against...whatever this was supposed to be. I suspected this was what Trigon's little attack had been. He had somehow created a Red X in my image.

"Well it looks like you want to fight." A sharp X shaped blade formed down both of his arms. "I think I can do that...in fact I know I can do that." The two of us began circling each other, mirroring each other exactly in every step, every tense muscle. He moved with the same grace and fluidity that I did, wasting not a single motion.

"This will not be a game Robin. I will not stop until you are dead, will not hesitate even the slightest bit to cut you to pieces. Do you really think you can handle that?"

"I've dealt with worse." Another laugh as he shook his head.

"No Robin...you haven't."

That's when I heard it. Heavy footsteps, the subtle shifting of metal with each step, a presence that seemed to radiate control and power. This person seemed to emerge right from the darkness itself and though he was wearing a mask over his eyes and his skin was a dull, dead gray, there was no doubt as to who he was. A uniform blended of copper and black, armor plating strategically placed at certain spots, and the emblem of Slade clearly on his chest. It was my face that looked back at me, my stone cold face. It was the apprentice and at that moment, I truly knew fear.

Darkness shall consume.