Once again, I'm sorry for failing in my promise to update often. Please don't kill me! But this is the third-to-last chapter, so you'll be done with me soon! As thanks for you sticking with me all of this time, I promise to do a Teen Titans fanfic with a series of oneshots that you guys chose! Just give me a senario in the comments, and I promise that I'll put a 100+ word chapter with a dedication for each of you! Once again, thank you so much!

Chapter Ten: The Final Battle – Part 1

"Um..." Beastboy said as the ground started to shake. "Where are we now? What is this place? And any chance we could get back home, Raven? Raven?"

The empath's eyes were fixed on the dagger, which was glowing with a red light. "It's him! Oh, Azar, what have I done? This is the place. I can't let this happen."

"What's going on?" Robin asked worriedly.

"This is the place where I saw you all die. And that sound is my father." Raven was crying again, but she couldn't help it. Everything she had feared, everything she had tried to stop, was happening right before her eyes. "Any moment now, he will find his way here and trigger my powers, which will then destroy both this dimension and Earths, if not more. I'm sorry," she gasped.

"Oh." Beastboy looked around again. It didn't seem like too bad of a place to die. Sure, the sky was burnt red and there was nothing but black rocks and an ashy plain for miles, but at least nothing else was trying to kill them. Yet.

Raven didn't know what to do. Really, there was nothing she could do. She had failed. Wait… no. Even if this was the place of her vision, that didn't mean that the events she saw were going to take place. She could still change them. She could still save her friends.

"Listen up," she said, her voice strong. "My father is bringing his demons with him, and they're not like anything we've ever faced before. Star, Cy, you have to take the fire demons. They can only be killed by raw power, and if you touch them, you'll die. Robin and Beastboy, you'll have to take the other demons. They have swords and poisoned arrows, so be careful. When my father comes, I'll drive him back. He's the biggest threat right now. Don't fight to kill, buy for time. If I can destroy my father, then my powers will be safe again, and I can bring us home safely. Just make sure you're alive when I do."

The titans looked at their friend in surprise. Eventually, Robin nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

XXX

Trigon had felt his daughter's presence. When he finally surfaced, he expected to find a trembling child at his feet. Instead, he was instantly hit with a ball of black energy, sending him reeling back into the hole he had clambered out of. Infuriated, he ordered his minions to go. "Kill them all!"

"Titans, go!" Robin yelled, and the fight began.

There were so many demons, and not just the ones Raven had described. Hundreds of creatures from hell had gathered to serve their lord Trigon, and it only took the titans a moment to realize that there was no way they could fight all of them. So, rather than fight for numbers, they fought for time. As long as Raven could defeat Trigon and expel all the dark power that had been building inside of her, she would be able to bring them all home. They just had to hang on until then. With this in mind, the titans formed a tight half-circle, backed up against a rocky ledge. Robin and Starfire on the left, and Beastboy and Cyborg on the right, with Raven blasting away in the middle.

As well as watching for any sign of her father, the empath was watching over her friends. She stopped a poisoned arrow from hitting Robin, shielded Beastboy and Cyborg from a wave of fire, and sent out shards of power that ripped through whatever they met. Raven was getting stronger. She could feel the darkness rising in her, and rather than try to control it, she was finally able to use it. In a moment of ironic happiness, as a spear broke through her defenses and whizzed past her head, Raven thought that things had actually worked out rather nicely – that was, as long as they all didn't end up dead.

Any good feelings that the titans held – confidence, pride, joy – were quickly trampled as the number of demons just kept rising. There was no stop to the sea of bodies surrounding them, and the only thing that had kept them alive thus far was the fact that no more than twenty monsters could reach them at once. With no other set opponent to face, Raven was able to take care of any weapon being sent their way, while Starfire and Cyborg sent out waves of power, and Robin and Beastboy took on the hand-to-hand combat.

However, there were signs that they were weakening. Robin's last staff broke in two. Beastboy changed into the beast, his last defence. Cyborg sent out wide sweeps of sonic rays, any attempt of changing his opponents gone. Starfire was no longer flying. And still, Trigon did not come.

"This isn't working!" was Robin's hopeless and rather unnecessary cry when there was a pause in the battle. "We need another plan!"

"I have one," Raven said, sending out a wave of dark energy. "But you're not going to like it." Her eyes were glowing red.

"If you're going to say anything about sending us away or going to face Trigon alone, don't bother," Cyborg said, and the faces of the other titans hardened in agreement.

"But if he's not going to come to us then I have to go to him." Raven swallowed as her magic darkened. She didn't have much time left. "If you cover me, I can find him and get this over with."

None of them liked it. The very idea of Raven facing her greatest fear alone was horrible to them. But they knew there was no other option. None of them said it. But they all resigned to let her go.

Raven sent out a huge wave of power, momentarily blinding or knocking out the demons. Then, she left. The others did what they could to help her. Starfire used all of her fury to send a flood of starbolts out. Robin sent his last birdmarang out to behead a demon that tried to grab her. Cyborg swept the beam of his sonic canon under where she flew, trying to clear a path for his friend. Beastboy, unbidden, followed her.

Raven hovered over the hole which led to the underworld of this dimension. Still more demons were climbing the craggy rocks, trying to get out and fight her friends. That thought was what sent her diving down through the masses of monsters that all rose up to kill her. She covered herself in a magical shield, knowing that she couldn't risk transforming into her soul-self – her powers were dark now, and she could not let herself fall into her father's clutches by being consumed by rage.

The floor of the giant cavern was covered in bones. Many of them were of demons, from battles and feasts and Trigon's own deadly games. Others were human bones, and Raven tried not to think of where they came from. Trigon sat in his throne, four red eyes fixed calmly on his daughter. Both of them had known that she would come.

Raven didn't waste time with words. She summoned all of her power, preparing for a single blow that would end all of this. She knew that it was her only hope.

"Dear daughter," Trigon laughed. "Are you trying to kill me again?"

"Shut up!" Raven growled. "You are not my father. I'm going to end this, once and for all!"

"I think you have another problem," the devil's son smiled, and Raven paled.

The empath whirled around, seeing what she had been dreading the most. She had saved Cyborg from the fire demons so far. She had stopped the poison arrow from hitting Starfire. Her father stood before her, and so he could not get to Robin. She had done everything she could to stop her vision from coming to pass. Yet, there he stood, his eyes dulled and uniform splattered with blood. Beastboy looked at her, trying to call her name, and in his hand he held a glowing silver dagger.

Sorry if this wasn't as good as the other chapters. I wrote it well after midnight, having realized that you were all probably ready to kill me about now.