1Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, but hey, I think we all knew that already

Trying To Do the Right Thing

Chapter 23

By: Finalitylife

On the surface of the destroyed planet of Earth, three dark, grey-skinned dopplegangers stood in front of their counterparts with malicious grins on their faces. They studied their doubles in appearance...they were in no way impressed.

Starfire's double began circling her, disgust on her face.

"Look at this pathetic loser. No wonder Robin could never love you. No wonder he never wanted you. You're worthless, your filth. You think your beautiful...your not. You think your so sweet and nice but your really just a bitch who gets upset when things don't go her way. Your nothing Starfire, nothing but jealous rejected trash, thrown aside for what...a half demon monster who helped destroy the world. How badly does Robin really have to look upon you to make that choice." Starfire felt her inner light not burning as bright as it once had been just a moment ago, her broken heart shattering all over again. Her sadness battling against her boundless confidence and her righteous fury.

Cyborg's double simply stood in front of him, tall and strong, his figure as imposing as possible.

"She may be all those things but you...your not even that. All you are is a thing, a piece of machinery. Your no longer human, hell your no longer anything. You don't have parents, you don't have friends, you DON'T have a heart and you certainly DON'T have a soul! Machines don't have those things. In the end, the time would have come, when you no longer were of any use, when you became too old and obsolete. And you know what they would have done with you machine, they would have just traded you in for a new model, a better model, tossed you right into the scrap heap where you belong. You are nothing Cyborg, nothing but a hunk of metal whose faulty programming needs to be fixed." Cyborg gritted his teeth, seething with anger and rage, though he really was just trying to push away all his self doubt, all those things he always feared to be true about himself since the accident. Was he even human anymore?

Beast Boy's double seemed to move with a confidence that was lacking in its green-skinned counterpart, slowly and methodically closing in on him.

"Now I'm not really even sure what I'm supposed to be looking at here. It looks like it could be human but its green with pointy ears so it must be a freak, a disgusting, spineless freak. Its no wonder Terra turned against you. I mean she had to have been completely insane to even want to spend time with you, well that and blind and deaf. A freak like you should have been beaten to death long ago, your parents should have drowned you when you were a baby. I mean they chose to die rather than live with you as a son. Terra chose to go with Slade rather than be friends with you and she chose to lock herself in stone rather than go back with you. Can't help but feel a little bit rejected I'm sure but I guess your used to it you outcasted mutant. If it makes it up to you, I'll make sure that when your gone, I'll take good care of Terra, all one hundred of the pieces she is soon to be in." Beast Boy felt like crying at the mention of his parents...of Terra but all he could do was shamefully look at the ground in front of him. He was a freak...an unloved freak.

Trigon watched happily from his position, able to feel the despair, anger, and pain radiating off of the three mortals. They were such fun creatures to toy with, so weak and vulnerable, unfit to be allowed existence. Soon enough that problem would be rectified.

As entertaining as these three were, Trigon believed the most amusement would come from the other one...the one who had tried to bring back his portal. This one would not go down as easily and his slow and painful death would be the most satisfying, almost as satisfying as knowing that defiant brat would have to watch the entire thing. Trigon was most pleased...most pleased indeed.

Robin P.O.V:

"Is that fear I sense in you Robin? Are you nothing but a coward?"

"I know you remember the deal you made, it was not that long ago. Your only future is to become me or to die. There can be no other paths for one such as you."

"Ha what a loser. I can see you shaking in your boots. I do hate to stain my hands with the blood of cowards. It always seems beneath me."

"You can not deny what you are."

"Both of you shut up now!" I surprise even myself at the outburst but I can't stand to hear their words any longer.

"Wow, having arguments with yourself. What a nut you must be." I growled at Red X.

"I said shut up." He only laughed.

"Well I guess then you'd prefer fighting. Hope your ready because here I come."

Red X flashed forward slicing at my chest and I moved just fast enough to avoid any contact from him though I left myself wide open for a bo staff to slam into my back. I stumbled forward from the jarring impact only to be met with a kick to my stomach that knocked the breath right from my body. I collapsed to the ground gasping for breath, their taunts already clear again.

"I'm just getting warmed up Robin. Do try a little harder, I need a better work out."

"Weak. You are so damn weak. I shall crush you this day Robin, prove my strength, my skill, what you should have been, what you still may be." I wheezed as I forced words out to respond.

"Big talk from a bunch of shadows. I'm not dying here today because that means I'm letting my friends down and I won't let that happen." One disbelieving, distorted chuckle, one dismissive grunt, and the sound of my boots slowly steading themselves as I got back into a standing position. I pulled out a bo staff of my own, took my stance, and readied myself for the next attack.

Red X charged forward again, the blades on his arm spinning. I accepted the attack with my bo staff, a few sparks erupting from the contact, and pushed him back. I quickly blocked an overhead attack from the apprentice, doing my best to hold the attack back as he pushed his weight upon me, again leaving myself open for Red X who fired a barrage of sharp projectiles at me. I had to drop to the ground to avoid them as they sliced through the air, one grazing my arm, the others just barely missing. I heard a small grunt of pain from behind me that wasn't me.

I shot to me feet once again in a defensive stance, taking a few steps away from them, trying to get some distance. My eyes settled on the apprentice who clearly had a red shaped X imbedded in his chest. He had been hit by one of the projectiles meant for me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Looks like you two are having trouble working together. That's a real shame." Robin watched as the apprentice pulled the object from his chest without so much as a sound or flinch on his face.

"Only a minor inconvenience, much as you are." He crushed the object in his steely grip, discarding it to the ground like a small piece of litter. What the hell was I up against? The problem was I knew the answer and behind my bravado, cocky words, and determination, I was still very much fighting in desperation. I glanced over at the caged child, one of the people I was fighting for at this moment and looking back at me were scared, concerned filled eyes. Her eyes...they were still the same, even after all of this they were still the same two beautiful eyes. I clenched my hands tighter around the bo staff as my two opponents drew closer. It was time to fight again.

This time I took the initiative and threw out a wave of birdarangs at them. Red X acrobatically avoided some of them, deflecting the others with his spinning blades while the apprentice barely moved, blocking one with his staff, and effortlessly catching another in his hand. Wasting no time, I attacked at Red X, catching him with his guard down just the slightest, slamming my staff into his ribs, and sweeping down to take his legs out from under him. He fell to the ground. I rolled to the side just as the apprentice's staff came down, slamming strongly into the ground. I popped up quickly, jumping high into the air delivering a kick right to his jaw. The impact echoed through the darkness. He did not fall, only stumbled slightly from what was a solid impact. I crouched upon landing, readying myself again. Red X was back on his feet and the apprentice only coldly glared at me, as he tilted his head slightly to the side, a few cracks coming from the joint.

"Not even close Robin."

"Yeah, you're going to have to do a lot better than that to survive. Actually, you're going to die no matter what you do so I guess it really doesn't matter what you do. Now that is a shame." I only gritted my teeth, trying to figure out some plan of attack. I could think of hundreds of ideas at that very instant, none of them I knew would work. Again the attack came.

I found myself doing nothing but dodging attack after attack after attack. Some of them were beginning to find their mark on my body, Red X slicing and cutting, the apprentice bruising and breaking. I was starting to get fatigued under the relentless assault of my inner darkness, something I had always had to fight against, only never this literally, and never this deadly. I could hear little Raven cry out every so often when an attack would connect on me which would only illicit a distorted chuckle from Red X and a stony glance over by the apprentice at the trapped little girl. When I heard her cry out, I would find myself pushing harder against my opponents but it simply was not enough. The two of them provided very little time for a counter attack and I knew their techniques to be flawless because they were mine, the ones I had spent hour upon hour honing to perfection. Who would have thought such actions would come back to haunt me like this.

Red X slashed forward, landing a particular deep cut across my chest, me barely having time to even feel the pain before metal slammed into the back of my skull. I fell to the ground instantly, seeing only blackness for a few seconds, the sound of a child calling my name echoing within the fogginess of my mind.

"This has really been disappointing you know that. Here I thought I would be getting a challenge, not some brat's pathetic babysitter."

"Your failure is your own fault, your own weakness the reason your friends have all perished. Good riddance to them, maybe now you can fight without hindrance of pathetic emotions.

"No...they can't be dead...they can't be gone..." I slowly pulled myself back to my feet, my legs not wanting to cooperate.

"They are gone Robin...painfully ripped apart until each was nothing but a scattered set of torn chunks of flesh. I guess you just weren't fast enough, good enough to save them. Haha, a pity."

"I'll kill you...both of you...you hear me!"

"You can not kill us Robin. You can not kill who you are. You continue to deny what lies deep within even as it stares you right in the face. How can you be so blind...so stupid."

"Enough! You monsters are not me! You are not inside of me!" An amused chuckle from Red X and barely there smirk by the apprentice and I couldn't help but think that was what was on Slade's face every time we fought...Slade...damn you.

"We are simply born from you Robin, formed from what was already there. That means you are only denying the obvious truth of yourself but if that is how you wish to die, then...so be it." Red X fired at me a glob of the sticky red substance that was more industrial glue than anything. I successfully flipped out of the way of it...or so I thought. My next move was cut off by something holding me back and I turned to see that my cape had been caught in the glue-like substance. I was trapped for the moment. I watched with wide eyes as the apprentice charged forward, every metal encased step echoing loudly in my mind, his bo staff ready to come down with incredible force. I know the attack would finish me, undoubtably crush my skull. I fumbled with removing my cape from around my next but I just wasn't fast enough. I watched as the staff came down, knowing I had failed everyone...failed Raven.

The impact never came. The staff, instead of crushing the bones of my skull, met a solid black shield of energy. My eyes flashed over to the only possible source. There, from inside the cage, with her arm outstretched, her hand glowing black was the child Raven, a look of confusion on her face, as if she had simply acted without conscious thought, her body with a will of its own.

"Raven..." The apprentice did not hesitate for a second. He reached to his belt and flicked his wrist toward Raven. I could only watch in horror as the same birdarang I had attacked with, the one he had caught, was now flying through the air toward Raven. The little girls eyes widened, her body still had not moved from when she had used her magic, and the birdarang pierced right through the center of her outstretched hand. Her scream of pain was terrible. She fell back, curling up into a little ball, as her sobs of pain relentlessly poured out of her small form. The apprentice only said one word.

"Nuisance." I felt myself growl.

"I'll kill you, you bastard!" I had finally gotten the cape off my neck and I tackled the apprentice to the ground, landing on top of him. I started slamming my fist into his face, me smiling inwardly at the sickening sound of his nose breaking.

"I won't let you hurt her! I'll kill you! I will destroy you!" The apprentice pushed me up, slightly off of him, only serving to make me an easy target. Red X's fist slammed into my face and I was positive my own nose had just broken as blood began streaming out. The apprentice threw my dazed form off of him, the world going around and around as I rolled over the ground before coming to a stop on the rocky ground. I forced myself to my hands and knees, my rage at what had happened to Raven still fueling my adrenaline but I didn't even have time to get up. I savage kick met my ribs causing me to roll over a few more times, once again robbing the breath from me.

I fought the urge to vomit as I struggled to find any breathe, once again finding myself on my hands and knees. I could still feel the blood flowing nonstop form my nose. I never saw Red X appear out of thin air high above me and he came down with his boot, all his force, all his weight, directly on to my left hand. The bones there crushed instantly from the impact and I screamed out in pain. Red X twisted his boot into my hand, causing me to scream out even more, finally stopping as he stepped away. I pulled my crippled hand to my chest as I sat there on my knees trying to fight away the pain only to look up as the apprentice delivered a devastating kick straight to my jaw. Blood shot out of my mouth upon impact and I collapsed over to the ground with a thud, my bleeding face meeting the ground, a puddle of blood forming around my head in the rocky, dirty ground.

"You threaten to kill us, threaten to destroy us...and in doing so, only prove what we say is true. We are you...this can NOT be denied. Let this be your final thoughts as your own darkness destroys you." Despite every protest of my beaten and bloody body, I pulled myself to my feet, standing on uncertain legs.

"No...I'm not you..." My defiant words were cut short as Red X crushed an elbow into my sternum and the apprentice slammed his bo staff into the side of knee with no remorse. I stood a few seconds, before collapsing to the ground again, unable to breathe, my one leg damaged enough so that I couldn't hold my weight anymore. I was broken and I was beaten. I'm sorry Raven...I'm so sorry.

On the surface, the other Titans had waged similar battles as Robin did, though nowhere near as difficult as the one the boy wonder faced. His darkness was far stronger than that which lied in the other Titans, far more unrelenting in its quest to consume. They too had been fighting a losing war against themselves when they slowly realized they could not win against themselves, though that didn't mean another would not be more successful. They had changed opponents, each one fighting another of their friend's darkened enemies, and in the end had defeated them. They could not defeat their own inner darkness, but with the help of their friends, they had been victorious.

As the three weary friends gathered together, Starfire had a grim reality to show them. She outstretched her one hand and within it was the Ring of Azar...now broken, shattered into many pieces. Its protective power was gone, their best hope of surviving this gone. Trigon's deep voice brought them back to the current situation.

"I am most impressed at your victory mortals but now the Ring is gone. It is time you are destroyed." The great beings eyes flashed brightly and the ground tore open violently. Out poured hundreds of fire demons, blood lust in their eyes, all set upon the three heroes. Beast Boy looked over at Cyborg with a sad smile on his face.

"We're going to die aren't we Cy?" Cyborg slowly nodded his head.

"Oh yeah." He gave his green best friend a strange grin. "But that doesn't mean we won't go out fighting to the very end. The three friends smiled at each other with acceptance though with no less determination in their heart.

"For Raven." Beast Boy morphed into a giant gorilla.

"For Robin." Starfire powered up starbolts in her hands.

"For everything." Cyborg powered up his sonic cannon. The end had finally come.

A/N: Split this into two parts...why? Because I'm a jerk. No wait...wait...its more dramatic that way. Next part up sometime this week...maybe. On another note, I did complete another story, Door that Can't Be Closed. Its always a good feeling to finish a story. So what does this mean to you as a reader...One: If you've never read it, you can now in its entirety. Two: For those that care, I will be soon continuing the one story I haven't worked on in a few months so fans to that, it should be soon. Three: I want to start a new story soon so be aware of that. In the mean time, any one want to see any particular quick one shot written...let me know. Oh and thanks to all who reviewed...always cool.