(AN, I am so flipping sorry that it's taken me so LONG to update. School started on the 24th and I've been trying to stay on top of that. So with out further ado…)
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Third person; Waking
'Get up…NOW!' Raven's body jumped at the violent command. Her eyes twitched open, and she found herself sprawled on the ground in front of the black stone temple. Using her hands, she pushed herself up and took a look around. The stone gate topped with screaming demons was, closed by her feet, and she could see the forest beyond.
"All that, just to get through a stupid gate," she grumbled, and stood up, her knees wobbly from the mental and physical strain she had just gone through. She looked up at the temple, feeling the first trundles of fear since she had started this journey. 'Robin?' she called out tentatively, in her mind. Closing her eyes, and concentrating hard (which was difficult, considering her weakened state), she burrowed deep into her mind, searching for a response.
'Raven? Is that you?' his voice responded feebly.
'Yes, Robin. Let me in,' Robin's consciousness moved aside, and Raven opened her mind's eye to find herself shackled to a wall in a cell. From the dim lighting, she could see that the cell seemed to built from orangish red bricks, except for one wall made of wrought iron bars. She tugged her new, stronger, arms, but the shackles held true. Robin's body felt weak, but she couldn't sense any physical injuries. 'Robin, hold on, I'm coming for you,' and she left his mind. Her astral self returned to her, and she opened her own eyes.
Upon looking at the temple, doubt flooded her mind. She had no idea weather her powers would be able to infiltrate the massive building, or if her presence would be a catalyst in releasing Trigon, or- 'Shut Up! Robin is in there and you're the only one that can save him,' she told herself, and walked right up to the wall of temple, ignoring the set of steps that led up to the huge, intricately carved, ebony doors into the building. She placed her hand on a large black stone level with her shoulder. Though it was hard to tell, given the darkness of the stone, a black portal opened in the wall and she stepped through.
She looked around at the poorly lit stone corridor. There were weakly glowing torches set in the wall at 30 meter intervals, and by the looks of it, the stone was the same black rock on the exterior of the temple…meaning that she was in the wrong part of the castle. To her left was a descending stair case, which was her best bet, though there were no more torches and no hand rail. She gathered all her courage and set forth, into the unknown dangers that possibly lie ahead.
Third person; The Tower
The red-headed alien gasped and her eyes flew open, as she was catapulted into consciousness by her dream.
"Raven!" she called out. Her eyes searched the empath's room fervently. That night Starfire had decided to sleep in her best friend's room, because she thought it would help ease her pain and worry. Instead it had given her an awful dream about her friend going through two terrifying and brutal challenges in some unknown place. "Xäl…" she sighed. Suddenly the red alarm and loud warning siren blared throughout the tower.
Third person; Rescue Mission
Raven's hand lightly trailed the wall next to her as she blindly made her way down the seemingly endless stairs. Her stomach dropped down into her feet as the step she was expecting suddenly vanished and she found herself on flat ground. She took in a deep breath and looked to her right, where some distance away was another torch. That was her only option, so she began walking down the middle of the empty corridor. Once she reached the torch she could tell that the stone had changed, and resembled the stone that made up Robin's cell. 'At least I'm getting somewhere,' she thought to herself. She looked around and for the first time noticed that both sides of the hallway were lined with huge metal cell doors.
"Robin?!" she called out, startled by her discovery. Before she even had a hope of hearing his response, something wrapped around her waist and slammed her up against a door to one of the cells, and she blacked out.
Third person; Back at the Tower
"When you get to Heaven, I'll be here waiting, babe," Terra's voice echoed through the blackness.
"Terra!" Beast Boy yelled. "Terra, where are you?!" he asked, tears flowing freely.
"I'm with you always, Beast Boy."
"Terra," he said weakly, and fell to his knees, sobbing quietly.
"Beast Boy, I have to tell you something though…" her voice came again. He looked up, confused. This was new to his reoccurring, and oh yes, he knew he was dreaming. He always was.
"Yes, Terra? What is it?…Terra, what do you have to tell me?!" he asked, growing desperate, for her voice was not responding.
"Beast Boy-"
Beast Boy rolled out of his bed in shock as the trouble alarm sounded throughout the tower. 'What ever interrupted Terra is going to pay,' he thought, anger pumping through his veins. With tears still staining his cheek, he got up from the floor and walked through his door to see what the trouble was.
Third person; Waking
"Robin?!" Robin's eyes opened at the sound of his name.
"Raven?" he whispered, not sure if her voice had issued from inside of his mind or from somewhere in the building. There was a horrible, blood-curdling scream then, that echoed down the hallway. "Raven!" he yelled, going to spring for the metal door to his cell, only to be restrained by his chains. "Raven!" he yelled again with growing anguish, thrashing against his bindings. "Raven, answer me!" he commanded. There was no response and he continued to struggle against the shackles. A solitary tear slipped from underneath his mask and streaked down his cheek.
Third person; Trouble
Starfire burst through the living room door, with Beast Boy hot on her heals, to find a most unusual sight. This was definitely not what either her, nor Beast Boy had expected. Standing there, broad as day, was the Man of Steel, clad in his classic ensemble of red, blue and yellow. On either side of him stood the Martian Man Hunter, and the Dark Knight, and standing in front of the breath taking trio, looking sorely out of place was their half cybernetic friend, looking extremely unhappy. That's an understatement. He looked down right pissed.
"You were under direct command of your leader to stay put, and she asked me to see that you remained where she directed," the Martian said.
"I don't know if she told you, but I'm third in command, and she and Robin aren't here, making me in charge," Cyborg challenged.
"Yes, but she gave and order, and you are not to break it," J'onn said.
"Listen, kid," Batman began. Cyborg looked as if he were going to snap at Bruce for calling him kid, but didn't. "I know that you want to find your friends, but breaking into the Watch Tower isn't exactly the best thing to do, on any circumstance."
"That was the last place I could pick up a signal on Raven, and I want to know where you guys sent her, now!" Cyborg yelled. Beast Boy was stunned, it must have taken a lot of nerve to actually demand something from just one of these men, much less the three of them. Suddenly a man in a blue suit with gold accents, a gold cape, and a solid gold face covering helmet materialized in front of the three towering men. Beast Boy recognized him as Dr. Fate from pictures he had seen. Starfire was at a loss for words, and had no idea who the new stranger was, though she recognized the first three men.
"Cyborg, please, calm yourself. I assure you that we did not send her anywhere," he said, clumping himself in with the rest of the League. "Though I know where she went, and why you cannot find her or Robin," Batman's jaw tightened at the name of his former sidekick. Cyborg raised his chin, as if to prompt Fate into further explanation. "I believe she has gone into the nether-realm, in search of Robin and the Magistrates of What Was Once Azarath," Cyborg's jaw dropped.
"The nether-realm…but that's…" he couldn't finish his sentence.
"Where Trigon resides," Fate finished for him. Cyborg dropped to his knees, his back shook with a violent sob.
"No!" he yelled. Starfire rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her friend.
"Please, Cyborg, do not worry. Raven is strong, she will be okay. Yes?" she said, directing the last part of the question to Dr. Fate.
"Star, Raven might live. And that's if Trigon is feeling generous," Cyborg said looking up at her. " But if Robin is in the nether-realm…" he trailed off, pleading to Starfire with his eyes.
"What? What is to become of Robin, for being in this unknown realm?" she asked, panic rising in her voice.
"He is probably already dead, Star," Cyborg finished, looking at the ground.
"NO!" she screamed. "I do not believe it!" she said standing up and stepping away from Cyborg.
"Young Tameranean, please listen to me. What Cyborg says may be true, but yesterday afternoon when Raven sought my assistance in finding Robin, she asked me to trace his psyche, I found him and I believed him to be alive. He very well may still be alive," Fate said. Cyborg looked up, new hope in his eyes.
"Robin…was alive?" he asked.
"Yes, though he should have died the moment he entered the realm. But he did not. I do not know why, but he was alive."
"Then we must not give up the hope," Starfire said strongly.
"What is that?!" Beast Boy yelled, speaking for the first time. The seven heroes looked out the massive windows to see thousands of winged, screaming, demons raining from the sky and descending upon Jump City.
Third person; Surviving
Raven could feel a thick band of muscle wrapped around her waist, trying to pull her though the bars of it's cell. Blades seemed to be coming from the muscle, cutting into the flesh around her mid section. 'I…have…to get…away…from here,' she struggled to even think. The pain was increasing and she felt she was going to be crushed to death.
"Raven…" she heard through distant ears. 'Robin!'. Her eyes snapped open, and she struggled against her capture. She looked down and saw a thick purple…tentacle? She struggled uselessly. Getting frustrated and dizzy from loss of blood, she took her hand and gloved it with her black powers. She sliced easily through the thing's flesh and a demonic screech issued from deep within the cell. The tentacle fell to the floor, and flopped around like a fish out of water. On inspection Raven could indeed see rows of inch long razor sharp blades, angled for ripping. She stepped back quickly from the cell not wanting to get attacked again, and stumbled further down the hallway. Her hearing was still far off and there was a keen ringing in her ears, but somehow, through the chaos, she heard what sounded like the rattling of chains and someone call her name. She looked around in confusion, spinning in a slow circle, looking for the voice.
"Robin?" she asked, not sure how loud she had been, or if she had said anything at all. Her eye sight was becoming oddly distorted and she couldn't focus on anything.
"Raven!" the voice called louder.
"Robin, where are you?" she asked, trying to ignore her body's urge to vomit up her entire stomach.
"I'm in one of the cells, Raven! What happened?! Are you okay?!" he asked frantically.
"I don't know, Robin…" she said, trying not to go plummeting to the floor.
"Raven! Just keep walking down the hall okay?…Raven, can you hear me?! Follow my voice!"
"I don't think I can," she said, confused. A fuzzy cloud seemed to have moved into her cranium, and she was forgetting things rapidly.
"For me? Please, Raven, follow my voice!" his voice cracked when he said please, and Raven tried her best to focus on where the voice was coming from. She stumbled a few steps down the hallway, clutching her stomach, and fell. She dizzily stood back up and kept walking. "That's it, Raven! I can hear your foot steps getting closer! Come on, you can do it! Just a little bit further!" 'Can you hear my footsteps?' she asked. 'Because I can't…strange.' she thought, losing the ability to think logically. She was starting to forget who she was, and had long forgotten where she was. But somewhere deep down she knew she had to follow the voice.
"Raven! Right here, I'm in-" Robin stopped short.
Third person; Attack
The seven heroes stared out of the window in absolute horror. Superman was the first one to recover.
"Come on!" he ordered, taking flight and crashing the window out into the raining chaos. Not one of them hesitated to follow his command. Beast Boy in pterodactyl form, Batman hanging from J'onn's arm, and Cyborg being held by Starfire, they all hovered in the air over the bay, looking out to the city. It was utter mayhem. Civilians were running, terrified, from the demons, but weren't fast enough, and as the heroes watched, people lost their lives. Grotesque figures roamed the street, destroying everything in their paths. A tear streaked down Starfire's cheek.
"God, help us…" Batman whispered.
Third person; Bloody Reunion
"Raven! What happened to you?!" Robin asked, shocked by the telepath's appearance. From her hip up to her ribcage was exposed, all the clothing gone. Every inch of her skin in this space was marred by cuts. She turned to her left and looked into his cell.
"Robin?" she asked, her voice an octave higher than normal. She went crashing to the ground then. Her head landed inches from the metal bars of his cell door.
"Raven! Raven, don't fall asleep, do you understand me?! Don't you dare give up!" he yelled, hating himself, for yelling at her. She stirred a little and sat up, leaning against the bars. "Raven, turn around. I'm in here," she slowly stood up and turned around, gripping a bar in each of her hands.
"Robin?" she asked, obviously having no idea what was going on.
"Yes, Raven. It's me, Robin. Listen, I need you to do something for me. I need you to use your powers to get through those bars. Can you do that for me?" he asked.
"I…I can try," she said, closing her eyes tightly. Robin could sense her mind trying to go back to it's normal state. As he watched a black portal opened up in front of her, blocking her from his view. She stepped out the other side of it, and fell to the floor of his cell.
"Raven!" he yelled again. His shackles lit up with her powers, and the links snapped. He flung himself to the ground next to her, fighting his weak body's protest of the quick movement. He gently picked her up, and pulled her limp body into his arms. "Raven, can you hear me?" he asked. Her eyes opened a slit and she looked up at him.
"Hey, Wonder Boy," she chocked out, blood starting to leak from her mouth. He grinned weakly at the nickname, and hugged her. She gasped in pain, and he released her quickly. He examined her shredded abdomen. It looked as if she had been mauled by a cheese grater. His gloved fingers hovered over the wounds. Not only was her crimson blood gushing from them, but an odd smelling deep purple liquid.
"What attacked you?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"Some sort of demon. I think there may have been venom on its blades," she said in an odd tone.
"I think there was. Shh, now. You need to rest, and let your powers push the venom out. I think they've already started, but I still think you need to rest," he said. He himself wasn't doing so well. He felt drained, and an odd, heavy feeling, as if her were slowly being crushed. He'd had this feeling since first waking up in his cell.
"Mhm," Raven mumbled, her eyes already closed. Robin hoisted her even further up into his lap, making sure that non of her was touching the floor. She curled up into his chest, and lay there, silent.
Third person; Chaos
"Watch Tower?" J'onn asked his ear piece.
"J'onn?" came Diana's panic stricken voice.
"Report."
"They were first spotted in Metropolis, but sightings in Gotham swiftly followed suit, along with Jump, and Steel City. We're now getting reports of a world wide envision," she said weakly.
"Alert everyone," Superman said. The seven of them were still suspended above the bay.
"We're coming," Wonder Woman said, and her com-link clicked out. Cyborg pulled out his communicator then.
"Calling all Titans," he said, with a slight reluctance. "Prepare for Battle," and with that he closed his communicator. They all looked at Superman, but it was Starfire who spoke.
"We fight where we stand!" she yelled valiantly, headed straight for the city. They all followed her, prepared to die.
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AN. OMG! I know it's been so long, and I'm so sorry. I was going to put more in this chapter, but I felt it should end there. There are a couple of things I think I could have done better, and after going back and rereading the entire story I saw a couple of things I could have done to make it better, but this will have to do for now. I really hope you enjoyed it! So, please review and tell me what you think, 'kay? Otherwise you read it for nothing…okay, not really, but still. Lol.