Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans!
Hey everyone, I guess this is it. The final chapter. I would make a big event out of it, buuuut I'll hold off on that for now.
Okay, you're probably wondering why I updated this chapter again. As I'm sure you can tell, I didn't like my ending. So after sitting down and putting some thought into it, I've decided to readjust things. Hope you like it!
On with the story!
Chapter 17
"I'll just keep it in my back pocket and use it when I need it." With an ominous laugh, he jumped into the hole and vanished.
"Al!" Beast Boy said cheerily. "How have you been?" Alistor raised an eyebrow and glanced at the chains wrapped around his body. Beast Boy sweat dropped. "Sorry. Standard question."
"We can catch up later." Robin said sternly. "For now, we need to get you out of here." He took a step away from the boy. "Raven."
The empath nodded her head in understanding. She extended her arms and chanted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The chains wrapped around Alistor were encased in black energy. Then with a sound of grinding stone, the chains were ripped from the wall and the weights were broken from his wrists, freeing the blue skinned boy.
Alistor visibly sagged with relief. "I'd tip my hat to you in thanks." He said wearily. "But as you can see, I'm lacking my hat." He offered them a small smile at the little joke.
Beast Boy laughed. Crouching down, he slung one of Alistor's arms around his shoulders and helped him stand up. Alistor grimaced as he stretched his sore muscles.
He tried to take a step, but before he could Starfire wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh friend, you have been missed greatly. I am glad to see you once more."
"Starfire." Alistor wheezed. "I'm not sure my lungs can take this right now."
Robin smiled at the scene. Overall, Alistor didn't look like he was hurt. His clothes were battered, but they weren't covered in grime. His blue skin was paler than normal and his bright yellow hair looked like it needed a wash, but otherwise he looked healthy. Except for the tired and pained look in his eyes. Then it hit him. He was trying to hide it, but he was in pain.
He put a hand on Alistor's shoulder. "Are you hurt?" He asked seriously.
Alistor shook his head. "My body is fine but," he placed a hand on his chest, "but I am far from being whole and well." He cast a tired look at Robin. "I'm afraid my rescue is only half complete. I need my crystal."
Robin nodded. "Raven told us about that. Don't worry, we'll get it back. But for now we need to get you out of here."
Alistor looked like he was going to argue, but after a moment he nodded in agreement. He took a step forward, only to have his leg buckle from beneath him. Luckily, Beast Boy was able to catch him before he hit the floor.
"Easy." He said, helping him stand again.
Alistor smiled weakly. "Thank you .It seems that my legs aren't quite up to the challenge of walking yet."
Raven knelt to the ground and placed her hands on his legs. "Let me help." Her hands were wrapped in a blue aura and Alistor could feel the strength returning to his legs.
He sighed in relief. "Thank you." He said with a nod.
Raven stood up and everyone froze. Footsteps echoed through the hall and they were getting steadily closer.
"Hide!" Robin whispered. Taking his lead, everyone pressed themselves against the side of the cell, hoping that whoever was coming wouldn't see them.
They were lucky.
The footsteps stopped just outside the cell. The five Titans waited for someone to run inside, but instead they saw a pale blue light and they heard a cracking sound. Then nothing. No footsteps, no shouting, nothing.
Robin chanced a quick look and found the hallway completely empty.
"Okay." Beast Boy said, walking out of the cell. "That was weird."
"Did nothing happen?" Starfire asked.
Taking a tentative step out, Alistor crouched to the ground and examined what looked like a broken glass ball. "I'm afraid it's quite the opposite, Starfire." Standing up, he turned to the others. "We need to get out of here quickly. That was sphere was a signal. Every guard in the prison will know I've escaped soon."
Beast Boy puffed his chest out. "No problem dude. This isn't the first time we've fought a bunch of alien guards."
"Really?" Alistor asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well I assure you that this experience will be much different." He looked at him seriously. "Observers don't feel fear. They don't know pity or restraint. They don't have any emotions that will hold them back in a fight. Are you sure you're ready for that sort of challenge?"
The green changeling shrunk back a little to hide behind Raven. "Okay, maybe not."
Alistor nodded and looked at Robin. "We need to find someplace to hide and gather our bearings. We need to make a plan."
"You're right." Robin said in agreement. "If we're going to make it out of this, we're going to need a good strategy. Raven, think you can get us out of here?"
Raven nodded. "Sure. But where should I take us? I don't know this place well enough to find a place to hide."
While the others thought that over, Alistor had a though. "Actually," he said, "I know just the place."
Raven teleported them all to the park where she and Beast Boy had spent the night. And after checking to make sure that no one had seen them, Alistor started leading them through a few abandoned alleyways and up to an old building.
"Here we are." He told them.
"What is this place?" Robin asked, looking up at the building.
"It used to be an old training hall. Children would come here to practice their magic. It was closed down some time ago." Alistor answered. He walked over to the door and pulled it open. Luckily it wasn't locked. "We should be safe here, for now at least." He took a step forward, but he stopped and let out a gasp.
"What's wrong?" Robin asked, immediately on his guard. Alistor staggered backwards until his back went up against a wall. The others watched as light began pouring off his body. The light rose into the air and Alistor could only stare at it as he felt his power fading before he lost consciousness.
The next thing he knew, he was laying on the floor with Robin and the others standing over him.
"Dude, are you alright?" Beast Boy asked with a worried look on his face.
"I believe so." Alistor replied. Sitting up, he looked around and found himself in a room with grey stone walls and a wooden floor.
"After you collapsed, we brought you in here." Raven explained. Alistor nodded, but remained silent. She looked at him for a moment before asking, "What happened?"
Alistor stayed quiet before looking up with tired eyes. "I told you did I not? They're draining my magic."
"Huh?" Beast Boy said, clearly confused. "But we broke you out of jail. How can they still do that?"
The blue mage shook his head. "As I told Raven, they have my crystal. It doesn't matter where I'm at. So long as they have it, they can do whatever they wish with me."
"What is this crystal?" Robin asked. "Raven told us that it's the source of your powers. But it seems like there's more to it than that."
Alistor nodded his head. "It's my life source. The very core of my being. Without it I'm but a husk of my former self." He sighed. "They've been steadily draining me of all that I am. I'm afraid I don't know how much power is left in me."
Robin put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of this. Now where would they be keeping your crystal?"
Alistor thought about that for a moment. Then he said, "The Observatory. They'd want to keep it close to them."
Robin narrowed his eyes in thought. "That makes things difficult. It'll be impossible for us to sneak in there now." Standing up, he put a hand to his chin and started pacing. "I need a minute to think."
Alistor sat back to relax. They all sat quietly for a moment before Raven spoke up. "We heard about your father."
Alistor tensed. He opened his mouth to say something, only to close it again. Eventually, he settled for saying, "I see." It took him a moment to gather up the courage to voice his next words. "But you still came to save me?"
"Friend." Starfire said softly. "We could not abandon you to such a fate that you have suffered."
"Yeah dude." Beast Boy agreed. "I mean, Raven's dad tried destroying the entire world! And we still want her on the team. Plus, you'd do the same for us."
"It doesn't matter who your father is." Raven said, getting the attention of the others. "It's who you are that counts." She smiled slightly while gripping Beast Boy's hand.
Alistor bowed his head and fought to control his emotions. His shoulder's shook. "Friends are nice to have aren't they?" He said shakily.
The others waited patiently with smiles on their faces as Alistor reigned himself back together. Then he grinned and turned to the others. "So how are the lovebirds?" He asked, trying to ease the tension in the air.
Beast Boy laughed and Raven blushed slightly while Starfire giggled. "Oh you know. Same old, same old." Beast Boy answered.
"Really?" Alistor asked with a raised eyebrow. "No more trouble with the news I hope."
Both Beast Boy and Raven groaned. "They've been…abnormally persistent." Raven said.
"Yeah!" Beast Boy agreed with his girlfriend. "I mean, the reporters haven't been this bad since Robin and Starfire first got together."
An irritated look crossed Starfire's face and her eyes started glowing green. "Those people learned very quickly that I am not one to be trifled with."
"I don't think something like that will help our problem." Raven commented dryly.
"So you have had trouble." Alistor chuckled.
Beast Boy snorted. "A reporter tried breaking into the Tower."
"You're joking!"
"Not a chance, dude. He followed Robin and Starfire back from one of their dates and tried sneaking in. Cy's security system caught him but it's still kind of creepy."
"Well where were you Raven?" The blue mage asked. "I can't imagine someone entering the Tower without you sensing it."
Beast Boy and Raven blushed. "I was busy." She answered shortly.
"You were making out with Beast Boy on the roof weren't you?" Alistor asked simply.
Raven blushed even darker while Beast Boy grinned sheepishly. "Can we change the subject?" She asked.
"Good idea." Robin said, walking over. "Because I have an idea."
"Please, Robin." Starfire asked. "What are we to do?"
Robin smiled slightly. "No more hiding. I think it's time we got on the offensive."
All was quiet. The guards stood in front of the Observatory in lines, completely surrounding the building on all sides. They all stood in complete silence, their only goal being the safe keeping of the people inside the building.
Then the silence was broken. A low hiss went through the air. The guards at the main door looked up as a disk struck the wall above them. They stared at it curiously for a moment before a green bolt flew through the air and struck the tiny disk, causing an explosion that knocked all the surrounding guards away from the door.
Smoke flooded the scene. Guards from all over the building gathered around the scene, ready to protect the entrance. When the smoke cleared, five Titans stood ready to fight.
"You have something that belongs to our friend." Robin said. "And we want it back."
Robin had barely finished his sentence before the guards raised their staves and fired at them. Streaks of blue energy flew straight for them, but Raven glided in front of them and raised her erected a barrier that protected them.
"Teen Titans, go!" Robin shouted. Raven dropped the barrier as Starfire and a pterodactyl Beast Boy flew through the air towards the guards.
With a yell, Starfire fired starbolts at the crowd, knocking guards to the ground. When Beast Boy flew over the crowd, he morphed into a bull. The guards cleared out of the from the spot he landed on, but the green changeling didn't waste any time in charging through the crowd, knocking guards left and right.
Robin ran at the crowd and pulled out his bo staff. With a "Hi yah!" he swiped at a guard and hit him in the side. Someone tried attacking him from behind, but Robin just circled around and struck him down. He smirked and twirled his staff as guards surrounded him.
Raven levitated over the front of the group and pointed her hands at the guards. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The staves of the guards in front of her were encased in black energy and ripped from the hands of their owners.
Raven expected for the guards to back down from the fight without their staves, but she was surprised as they raised their hands and shot streaks of blue energy at her. They didn't look as powerful and they weren't as fast as their first attacks were, but she still had to quickly dodge out of the way. She flew away from the guards, only to have them chase her, firing blue energy at her the entire time.
Alistor watched his friends fight. Streaks of blue energy flew everywhere and he could hear shouts coming from Robin and Starfire as they fought, and animal noises coming from Beast Boy was charging through a particularly thick group of Observers. He pushed up his sleeves and said, "I can't let them do all the work. Time for me to join in." Suddenly he found a line of guards standing in front of him.
He just smirked and raised his hands. "I don't have my staff, but I can still take you on. Attack!" Nothing happened. Alistor blinked and looked at his hands in confusion. "Attack!" Nothing again. Then he sweat dropped. "Right. No magic." He laughed nervously. "Carry on then." He waved at the guards before running away with a scared look on his face. The guards wasted no time in chasing him.
Beast Boy was plowing straight through the Observers. Literally. He charged his way through the crowd, leveling guards as he went. Then he shifted into a hummingbird to dodge several beams, only to shift into a tiger. He growled at the guards around him.
But he didn't notice three Observers circle around him. Together, they raised their staves and chanted, "Bind." Beast Boy finally noticed them and turned around, but he wasn't in time to avoid the beams of energy that wrapped around him and tied him to the ground.
Beast Boy shifted back to normal and struggled against his binds. "Let me go!" He shouted. The three Observers didn't listen to him as they raised their staves again to finish him off. Beast Boy's eyes widened. But instead of giving up, he growled and shifted into a tyrannosaurus. His sheer size broke the binds around him and he gave a triumphant roar before going back to attacking the guards.
Robin kicked at a guard as there was a blast of black energy, sending several more over his head. He turned around to see Raven blasting away at guards. "Raven!" He called.
Raven looked over as Robin flipped himself over one guard and jumped off the head of another to land right next to her. "Kind of busy at the moment." She said dryly. She made a small barrier to block the beams of energy that were fired at her and Robin.
Robin parried the staff of one Observer with his bo staff. "We can't keep this up forever. You need to get Alistor and find his crystal. Then we're getting out of here."
Raven nodded. "Right." She levitated into the air and searched around for the blue Titan. When she found him, she didn't like what she saw.
Alistor was pinned against a building with a group of five guards around him.
"Well this hardly seems fair." He said dryly. The guards took threatening steps forward and Alistor could only grit his teeth in frustration.
Just as the guards raised their staves to strike, Raven lowered herself between them and Alistor. "Leave. Him. Alone." She said in monotone.
The guards didn't even blink. They sliced their staves through the air and pointed them at Raven. "Strike." They fired five beams of blue energy at the empath.
Raven made a barrier against their attack, but the guards didn't let up. They kept their attack going and Raven started having trouble keeping her barrier up. "I…can't…stop it." She managed to say.
Alistor could only watch in horror as Raven's shield began to crack. But to his amazement, just before it broke, a sonic cannon blasted the Observers away. But it didn't stop there. The blast kept going until it knocked out the Observer's surrounding Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy as well.
The five Titans looked at the source of the blast and their jaws dropped. "Cyborg?" They all asked in unison.
The cybernetic teen lowered his arm and smiled. "Now who said you guys could get started without me?" He said cheekily.
"But how is this possible?" Alistor asked. "You shouldn't be able to come here."
"Don't worry about it." Cyborg said. "He pointed behind him, were there was a cable going from his back to an open portal. "I put Kid Flash on a treadmill and hooked it up to an external battery pack. So long as he keeps running, I won't get shut down."
"But how'd you even know to come here?" Robin asked, running up to the Titan.
Cyborg shrugged. "Some guy named Cass showed up at the Tower and said you guys needed some help."
"But what about Jump City?" Robin asked.
Cyborg smirked. "You don't need to worry about that. Me and the rest of my team shipped almost every villain in Jump to jail. Besides, I left Kole, Jericho, and Jinx back just in case something happens."
"Dude, sweet!" Beast Boy shouted happily. Then he turned around as he heard more guards coming towards them. "Uh oh."
Rave levitated into the air. "Maybe we should talk about this later."
"Right." Robin said, nodding. He turned around to face the rest of the guards. "Let's move!"
With a yell the Titans ran at the enemy, but as Alistor went to join his friends he was stopped as someone tugged on his cape.
He whirled around, ready to fight with his hands if he had to, but he found an Observer with mustard colored hair standing behind him with one hand behind his back.
"Ebenezer?" He asked in wonder, seeing through the illusion.
The Elder nodded his head and chuckled. "Surprised to see me?" He asked. "But never mind that. I believe I have something of yours." He took his hand out from behind him, revealing a shining blue orb.
Alistor's eyes widened. "My…my…" He shook his head. "How did you get it?"
A mischievous glint appeared in Ebenezer's eyes. "Let's just say that our good friend Cassius is keeping everyone inside busy." Then he pressed the crystal into Alistor's hands. "Now take it. This is all I can do. I have to return to my post with the other Elders before they notice I'm gone." Before Alistor could even say thank you, Ebenezer disappeared into thin air.
Alistor looked down at the crystal, his crystal, with joy in his eyes. He ran up behind the others and grinned. "I believe it's time for me to join the fight."
Robin turned around after dodging a beam from a guard. "Alistor, what are you talking about? You don't have any-." He was cut off mid-sentence as the crystal in Alistor's hands began to shine with blue light. The other Titans, and even the other Observers looked on as Alistor closed his eyes and held the crystal up to his chest.
The light grew brighter as the crystal melted into his chest. Before their eyes, his clothes repaired themselves, his skin became less pale, and his hair straightened and became clean again. He lifted one arm and his staff materialized in his hand.
The light faded and Alistor opened his eyes. "Shall we get started then?"
The Titans looked at each other before Cyborg grinned. "Oh yeah!" He pulled out his sonic cannon. "Hey, Al? Let's show them what we're made of."
Alistor grinned. "Brilliant idea."
He pointed his staff at the crowd of guards as Cyborg aimed his cannon. They both fired at the same time, creating a large blast of white and blue energy.
But before it could hit, a large blue barrier appeared in front of the Observers, protecting them from the blast.
"Say what!" Cyborg shouted. "When did that get there?"
"We put it there." A deep voice said.
Everyone looked as the Elder Watchers levitated from the Observatory and into the battlefield.
Cecil looked at the Titans with emotionless eyes. "It has come to our attention that somehow," he focused on Alistor, "the Banished has reclaimed his crystal."
"Indeed." Margaret said. "And what's more, you've brought this…plague," she gestured at Cyborg, "back to our realm."
Cyborg glared at her. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
Tonbert is the one that answered him. "As the Banished no doubt knows, your human technology is a plague to our kind. It's very presence strips us of our power."
"We demand you leave at once." Rosia finished, gestured at the Titans.
"No." Robin answered with narrowed eyes. "Not without Alistor."
"Unacceptable." Cecil said. "We cannot allow a Banished to go where he wishes. Such a thing could prove disastrous. Particularly a son of Aldrick."
Alistor glared at the Elders. "As long as the Banished Alistor is at large, he could easily begin to corrupt the Observer race as he has tried before." Tonbert went on.
"Now that is enough!" Alistor shouted. The Watchers raised an eyebrow at the ex-Observer. "How long do you keep trying to fool yourselves?"
"What do you mean?" Margaret asked.
"I mean exactly what I said." Alistor countered. "You all disapprove of me from spreading emotions to the rest of the Observers and you use the pretext that I'm Aldrick's son to justify keeping me in prison. You say that you are devoid of emotion. But I believe you are wrong." He spread his arms to gesture at the Elders. "That disapproval IS itself an emotion."
"That…is not true." Cecil said. But there was hesitation in his voice.
"Yes it is." Alistor said firmly. "You refuse to believe it, but even you, the Elder Watchers, aren't immune to emotions. And even though my eyes have dulled from their time on Earth, I can still see. You are changing." He motioned to all the Observers around behind them. "We are all changing."
The Observers all around the building began to stir, blankly looking at one person to the next. It wasn't much, but it was a reaction.
The Elders were silent for a moment. While the other four stared blankly at Alistor, Ebenezer was practically beaming.
"You have…given us something to think upon." Rosia finally said. "And think upon it we shall, while you are prison."
"I don't think so, dudes!" Beast Boy yelled. "He's coming back with us!"
"I'm afraid not." Cecil said. "Under Observer law, he is a convict. And as such you have no business here."
"Actually, we do." Robin answered. "On Earth, Alistor is a hero. He rescued our friends and saved our city." He took a step forward. "If you want to send him to jail, we're going to fight you the entire way. And we WILL win."
The Observers were silent again, thinking over Robin's words. Except for Ebenezer. He chuckled and ran a hand through his beard. "I doesn't have to come to violence, you know."
"You have a proposition, Elder Ebenezer?" Tonbert asked.
"Indeed." Ebenezer answered. "We rebanish Alistor." He got confused looks from the Titans and blank stares from the Observers. "It's simple. With Alistor banished again, he can remain on Earth with the Titans. And he never returns here again."
"That is…acceptable." Cecil answered, finally. He turned to the Titans. "But only if the Banished swears upon his own crystal that he will never interfere with us again. Are you willing to lose complete contact with your own race?" He asked Alistor
Alistor thought about that for a moment. He looked around the city and at the people. This was his home. These were his people. But even as he looked, he saw Observers stirring. Their eyes seemed less hollow. There was hope. He might have just given the Observers the push they needed to start branching out from their old ways.
But he wouldn't be there to see what would happen. The difference between him and them was still too vast. But he didn't think about it as leaving his home. He preferred to think of it as he was being allowed to return to Earth. His new home.
"I accept."
"Very well." Margaret said. "And are you Titans agreeable to this arrangement?"
"So, uh, does that mean Al gets to go back home with us?" Beast Boy asked.
"Precisely."
Beast Boy broke out into a huge grin. "Dude! Hear that Al? You get to come back!"
Alistor stared at the Elders suspiciously. "And I have your word that you won't chase me anymore? That I'll be allowed to live on Earth in peace?"
"You do." Ebenezer answered with a smile.
There was a stunned silence from the Titans. Not a sound was heard through the entire city. Until, "Glorious!" Starfire cheered. She shrieked in joy and wrapped Alistor in a bone-crushing hug.
"Boo ya!" Cyborg yelled. Getting caught in the moment, he went to give the Observers next to him a high five, but each and every one of them scrambled to get away from him.
Beast Boy cheered and jumped into the air. Running over to his girlfriend he wrapped her in a hug. "Sweet dude!"
Raven didn't even try breaking out of the hug. She just rolled her eyes and said in monotone, "Uh. Yippee."
"Well you heard them Alistor." Robin said. He walked up to Alistor who was attempting to reinflate his lungs. "Let's go home."
Alistor looked at him in a daze, still not believing that he was free. "Oh, quite, yes." He cleared his throat. "Home. Now that sounds nice."
"Well come on ya'll!" Cyborg called, waving from the portal that he had come through. "We got celebrating to do. And that means waffles!"
Raven groaned as Beast Boy dragged her over to the portal with a childish grin on his face, Starfire, following close behind.
Robin shook his head with a small smile as he and Alistor began to follow them. "So Alistor." Robin said once they were in front of the portal. "What are you going to do now?"
Alistor took one last look back at his former home. Then he sighed in contentment and turned back to the portal. "Actually. Is that spot on the new team still open?"
And it's done! I hope you like the changes I made. It makes me feel much better now that I've redone the ending.
Now then. (bows formally) It has been a true honor writing for you all. But for now I bid you all good bye. Our hero Alistor's story is over.
Till next we meet.