I was wound to a pole with fire closing me in on all sides. My body squirmed under the rising heat and my lungs burned from the ash building up in my throat. I couldn't see anything but smoke swirling around my eyes, my nose ached from the intoxicating fire that had slowly gotten closer. I attempted to scream, but my efforts were swallowed by the burning of my flesh. I couldn't move or call for help, I just hung on that pole with the fire slowly climbing up and licking my legs.
"Don't bother trying to escape, you are trapped," my father's bellow voice rang out.
"Why am I here, let me go!" I screamed, but then choked on the flames burning my throat.
"You know very well why you are here. Remember the prophecy, remember the deal we made," he said.
"No, don't hurt them, I'll open up the portal," I whispered, fear biting my heart.
I couldn't let my friends get hurt, they meant to much and if there was any chance of stopping Trigon, they were our only hope.
"And so you shall, but when the time is right, when your friends watch me rise back for revenge," he said calming, his voice monstrous and echoing through the underground chamber.
I realized then that the fire around me had been put out, the flames gone and that I was in his world, a whole other dimension. He brought me here, how would they stop him?
"Glad you wondered that," he answered, reading my mind.
"How is this going to work?" I said, suddenly feeling stupid for asking, I felt very diplomatic and Trigon was anything but that.
His four red eyes appeared in front of my face, and his body followed.
"Don't you see, they are already here," he said while pulling them up from the ground below me.
I watched as my four friends appeared from the blazing lava below my feet, their bodies caged and faces of shock showing.
"How are they here?" I screamed, horror and pain striking me once again.
"You see, after they set out looking for you, of course I sent my allies to find them and bring them here, you know one, Slade," he said.
"No, that is impossible! You cheated him, he hates you now!" I said, believing he was bluffing.
"We had an agreement, the deals the deal, move on," Trigon spoke loudly, Slade appearing on a cliff behind Trigon in the distance of the cave.
"How did you-" I began to say until I was cut off.
"My dear daughter, your friends have been looking for you for months, ever since they decided to save you. I brought them here when the time was right, when the portal shall be opened once again!" Trigon said, his voice shaking the ground.
I watched as my friends looked at me in shock, their faces pained when they realized what was happening. I wanted to look away, to avoid their gaze, but I simply couldn't.
"Now, back to business. The time is near, open the portal now! Or your friends die," Trigon shouted, my body going rigid from hearing those last four words.
I almost resisted, but forced myself to nod before my last tears fell. He then closed his eyes and the restraints around my body loosened, my limbs finally able to move. I almost lashed out at him, but composed myself, I couldn't fight back this time, not without my powers, I was useless.
He held his hand out to me, urging me to grasp it, his cold hand suddenly blazing my skin once he started his chant, my prophecy.
The gem was born of evil's fire,
the gem shall be his portal.
He comes to claim,
he comes to sire.
The end of all things mortal.
As he finished the last sentence, I gave my friends one last look, a look of regret, heartbreak, and love, hoping they accepted me. I felt my whole body then turn to fire, my symbols reappearing and spinning around me once more, my body becoming a glowing orb, or gem. When I felt my eyes close, I expected to disappear, to die, but instead, relief flooded through me, like my flame was put out.
I opened my eyes to find Robin hovering over me, his body crouched over me in a defensive position, his eyes scared.
"How did you-" I started again, but interrupted once more.
"Slade, turns out he is really on our side," Robin said as Slade beat Trigon with his fist, Trigon actually looking weak.
That's when I felt it too, I felt so weak, the bond broken left me feeling empty, my consciousness slowly leaving me. As my vision began to fade, all I saw was Robin looking at me with concern, but my attention shifted to behind him, where Trigon came coming towards Robin.
"Robin, look out, I managed to choke out."
I saw Trigon come right behind him, seeing that he was using all his remaining strength to end us, to end our love, to kill me either way, but he didn't. All I heard was Starfire screaming as she collided with Trigon, the two of them knocking to the ground. I watched in horror alongside Robin as she punched him over and over again, each time left Trigon getting weaker and weaker. I almost cheered, knowing it was over, but stopped when I saw Trigon pull out one last trick. I couldn't warn her in time, I was too late.
Before I managed to scream or tell her to move, he shoved a knife into her side, her body going limp before she fell to her side. She whimpered in pain as she began to close her eyes, her eyes telling me it was okay and that she forgave me. I felt a single tear slip down my cheek, she was gone, that one last moment of her life was spent on me, her last breath wasted.
She was gone and I felt my power come back to me, my magic returning. I got up from the ground, releasing Robin's grasp on me and marched straight over to Trigon, my father now standing triumphantly.
"You evil monster, you killed her!" I screeched, my beams of shadows hitting him in the chest, sending him flying backwards.
I gasped when I saw a mix of green and black magic, Starfire gave me her powers. She knew I could stop him.
"You are dead and you will never be able to hurt anyone ever again!" I screamed as I threw another bolt at him, making him writhe in pain.
My three friends gathered below me as I hovered in the air, ready to beat him into the lava.
"This is for mom, you left her," I said while sending another bolt at him.
"This is for Starfire, you killed my best friend," I screamed as I hit him again, this time with more force.
I watched as he fell back, his body on the edge of a cliff hanging above the lava. I dropped to the ground, my feet carrying me next to him. When I stood a foot away from him, I reached my hand out to him, hoping he would grasp it. Strangely enough, he did, pulling himself to his feet. When he stood straight, I merely smiled.
"And this is for me," I said before kicking him into the lava, watching him scream as he fell into the liquid, his body turning to ash before sinking below the surface, never to be seen again.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, turned around and found Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg standing around me, smiling. I pulled Robin in for our first kiss in ages, then pulled the rest of the group remaining in for a hug. After our tiny reunion, I walked over to Starfire's body, collecting her in my arms and touching her forehead.
You are my best friend, I love you so much, we all do.
Using every bit of remaining energy I had left, I used my newly returned powers to send her to Azarath, a place where she could be buried in honor, where she would be remembered as a hero. As the four of us watched her float away to my home dimension, I looped my arm through Robin's, intertwining our hands. As we watched her fly home, I thought of every possible future, how we would all learn to live and that we should all look forward to our time together, the time we had to experience the newfound life of friendship and love. We would always protect the people of Earth, we are the safeguards of our future and now is the time where we relearn the importance of friendship and treasure what we have.