Chapter Ten: The Pure Metals

The dark storm clouds encircling the island of Themyscira began to grow even darker and the sea surrounding us raged violently, as it was only a matter of time before the evil phantom god, Bellum, would regain his true form. The black sand that had spilled from the Phantom Hourglass was changing shape, beginning to resemble some kind of tentacled thing. I was a little freaked to see what he was really going to look like.

The magic swords that Ares had conjured up to keep us at bay had now disappeared, probably because there was no need for them now that Bellum was only seconds away from rebirth. Robin told us to get ready fro whatever that sand was going to become.

"Ugh! I bet he's gonna be something huge and super gross!" Beast Boy remarked.

Shortly after Beast Boy's remark, the black sand had finally ceased churning and radiated with dark energy. When it cleared, we finally saw what it had formed into. It was a putrid green octopus-like creature with what looked like teeth on top of it's head. It certainly was nasty-looking, but…. it was no bigger than a common octopus! The nasty, but still rather pathetic-looking thing fell from the air and landed where the Phantom Hourglass had been, with a small splattering noise. Beast Boy, Cyborg and I began laughing at how tiny this so-called 'phantom god' was.

"That's Bellum?! Ha! He's hardly bigger than Silkie!" Beast Boy laughed, mentioning Starfire's pet worm.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Majora went through all of this trouble to revive that?!" I also laughed. "I'd have more of a challenge pulling off Spikey's mask!"

Robin gave me a funny look from that last statement, but afterwards told all of us not to let our guard down. Link went on to mention that if Majora had revived this thing, then it must be dangerous; he just didn't exactly know how.

I looked towards Ares, and noticed that he did not look very pleased. He was looking down towards the tiny pathetic-looking pile of 'phantom god' that was supposed to be Bellum, and growled in anger. He then turned to face Majora, and sounded very angry.

"Is this some kind of joke?! This is the all-powerful 'phantom god'?! It looks more like something one would put on a dinner plate! You dare to mock me?!" Ares raged.

"Oh, I assure you, this is indeed Bellum. His seal has been broken, but unfortunately his time within the hourglass has left him drained." Majora explained. "But do not worry. All he needs to regain his powers is a little more life force."

Ares turned towards us and laughed. I formed a pair of swords, ready for whatever these guys planned to do with us.

"I see. That must be why you brought the Titans here. To be Bellum's first meal." Ares claimed.

"Actually, no. In order for Bellum to return to his former self, the life force he must devour must be from a being of great power." Majora informed Ares. "Fortunately, I have prepared for this part as well."

"A being of great power? If it is not the Titans then who….?" Ares started to ask.

Before he could finish though, Majora began to smile horrendously. In fact, his evil smile would've normally been humanly impossible (but of course, Majora isn't human at all). Then before Ares could react, a black tentacle grasped one of his arms; but this tentacle didn't come from Majora; it was one of Bellum's! The octopus-like monster had opened the 'mouth' on it's head, and inside where there should've been a throat-hole, there was instead a demonic yellow eye that was similar to one of Majora's. It let out a piercing shriek and grabbed Ares with it's other four tentacles. He tried to break free, but Bellum had already attached himself and didn't look like he was going to let go.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Ares questioned angrily as he tried to pull Bellum off.

"Ha ha ha ha! You really thought I was going to assist you in your conquest of Olympus? Fool! I could care less about those second-rate gods. I merely needed your life force to return Bellum to full power, so I can use him to further my own plans!" Majora snickered.

"You dare to double-cross me?! I am the God of War!" Ares shouted.

"I highly suggest that you find a new title…" Majora gloated.

Ares continued to try and break free, but it was no use. I could hardly stand Ares, but even so, he was still my dad. I had to do something! With the two swords I formed earlier still in my hands, and ran up towards him and plunged both of my swords into Bellum to try and pull him off of my father. However, while the swords did go in, they didn't seem to have any effect! It was as if Bellum was intangible, which may very well be considering he is the 'phantom god'. Before I could do anything else, Bellum swiped one of his tentacles at me and knocked back a few feet.

I kept trying to pull Bellum off, but every time he kept knocking me back. After the fifth time, the others shouted out for me to stop.

"Scarlette, it is no use! Bellum isn't going to come off!" Starfire told me.

"At least it's Ares that's being attacked. Good riddance." Wonder Girl stated.

I could honestly see where she was going with that, but still, Ares was my father; and if anything that my mother said was true, I knew that he still cared about me, at least a little. As such, Wonder Girl's statement made me a little angry, but even so it was too late now. I looked towards Ares to see that his body was slowly turning to stone, and once it was completely petrified, Bellum let go.

Bellum's body began to pulse grotesquely. He rose into the air again, and he began to pulse more rapidly. With a hideous stretching noise, his body grew nearly twenty times it's original size. His octopus-like body bulked up, and the tip of each of his tentacles grew an eyeball that was same color as the one inside his mouth. After this transformation was complete, Bellum let out a blood-curtailing shriek, one that was deeper than before. Majora floated right up in front of Ares' now petrified body, and laughed.

"Say it with me: I am Ares, God of Lawn Ornaments!" Majora gloated. "Oh, I guess you can't say it with me, for it would appear that you have been… stoned!"

After Majora laughed maniacally (yet again) he floated up to Bellum and smiled evilly. Bellum looked towards Majora and shrieked, then struck Majora with one of his tentacles. It didn't look like Bellum was very loyal to his new 'master.'

"So what now? Is that Bellum thing gonna eat Majora?" Cyborg questioned.

"That'd be a bit ironic, no?" Wonder Girl stated.

However, while Bellum had attacked Majora, and now had all five of his tentacles wrapped around him, Majora didn't look phased at all. He still had that same evil smile from before, and by now it was giving me the creeps. Bellum's attack had been in vain, for Majora seized Bellum's five tentacles with his own eight tentacles. With almost no effort, Majora had Bellum pinned within a matter of seconds.

"I'm afraid that my life force is not on the menu today, Bellum. But I know what is…" Majora said.

What Majora did next almost made me want to hurl; He stuck all eight of his tentacles right through Bellum's 'chest!' A black-colored substance, which I assumed was Bellum's blood, came oozing out of him. So, did Majora go through the trouble to revive Bellum just so he could kill him? That made absolutely no sense! But if I had learned anything from Robin, it would be that you can't always jump to conclusions; there had to have been a reason that Majora had just skewered the phantom god. My question was answered in almost an instant as Majora attached his mask 'face' to Bellum's 'chest.' Majora's eyes stopped glowing, but Bellum's eyes were now glowing and looked exactly like Majora's; including the eyes on his tentacles!

"Now I am in control." I heard Majora's voice say.

His voice had come from Bellum. At that moment, I realized what had just happened; Majora had possessed Bellum! The other Titans had been watching this with me, and from the looks of it, they had found the whole thing to be displeasing too. Beast Boy had actually thrown up!

"Ugh… dude… that had to have been the nastiest thing I've ever seen!" Beast Boy said.

"I've seen you leave nastier things in our bathroom. But yeah, that was pretty nasty." Raven replied.

I knew that was Raven's attempt at lightening the situation, but honestly, it wasn't working. Majora was now attached to Bellum, and hovered over to us. He stared down at us through Bellum's 'mouth-eye', which was dripping saliva.

"Now… who shall be our first victim?" Majora… or Bellum, or… Majellum or something, asked himself.

Link unsheathed his Master Sword and jumped at Maj… Bell… whatever! Starfire urged him to stop, but Link had already swiped his sword right into Majellum's flesh. But just like what happened with Majora, Link was the only one who felt the pain. He screamed in pain, while Majellum's wound healed in an instant. All of us went to help Link out, with those of us who had not been in the fight from before looking very confused.

"Foul monster! You will not hurt Link again!" Starfire shouted towards Majellum.

She drew her sword from the scabbard on her back, and it began to blaze in green fire. Heh, now Majellum was in for it! It was only a little while ago that I saw Majora get massacred by that Spirit's Sword of hers!

"Go ahead! Sever us apart with that sword of yours! But do you really want to risk it? We still have the life force of all of these Amazons within us." Majora stated. "Even if you destroy us, you risk leaving all of these victims in a nonexistent state for all of eternity!"

So if Starfire actually did destroy Majora, she'd risk ending the lives of all of the Amazons on this island! Majora was really playing dirty now! Apparently Starfire did not want to take that risk, as she put her sword back in it's scabbard. Despite her backing down, Majellum wasn't going to back off. He sent out three of Bellum's tentacles straight for her. She was about to get hit, but right at the last second, Wonder Girl had used her lasso to bind the three tentacles together. Majellum was stopped in his tracks, for now.

"All of you! Get out of here, now!" Wonder Girl told us.

"No Donna! We will not leave you to face him alone!" Starfire responded.

"Don't worry about me! You all need to find a way to slay this beast and return the life force he stole! I'll hold him off while you escape! Now go!" Wonder Girl said.

Link insisted that Majellum was lying and that he could be slain without sacrificing anyone, but Robin told everyone that Wonder Girl was right. Now that Majora had possessed Bellum, his threat level has increased dramatically. It was unlikely that any of us would stand a chance against him right now, even if we attacked him as a team. We had to go back to Titans Tower and figure out a way to deal with this. I was reluctant at first; I mean, I'm not the kind of girl that runs from a fight. But every time Spikey and I got into an argument about mission tactics, he would end up winning it. Besides, he was right; if we stayed in the fight right now, odds are we would all end up in Bellum's stomach. So we retreated; making our way as fast as we could back to the T-Ship.

From the distance we could hear the end results of Wonder Girl's attempt to stall Majellum.

"You wish to stand in our way? Then I guess you will be our first victim!" Majellum roared.

With a horrendous shriek from Majellum and a piercing scream from Wonder Girl, the struggle ended. Majellum had, without a doubt, taken Wonder Girl's life force. We didn't have any time to mourn her loss though, as Majellum would be on our tail at any moment! Cyborg started up the T-Ship and floored it! Majellum didn't chase after us, but I knew for a fact that we'd see him again.

Even back at the Tower, the sky was still as dark as it had been on Themyscira. It was most likely Majellum that was causing this, and it was only a matter of time until he arrived here in Jump City. We were all gathered in the ops room, to try and find a way to win the fight against our new assimilated opponent.

"Starfire? Have you found anything in the Book of Hylia?" Link asked.

Starfire had been sitting at one of the tables looking through this weird book written in a language none of us could understand; well, except for Starfire of course.

"I have found a page detailing the Bellum. It is as Majora said; he is a monster with the power to steal the life force of others." Starfire explained.

"Life force? What is that? Like someone's soul?" I asked.

"It's similar to that. It's a sacred power that all living things possess. It's what enables us to live, and without it a person's body is rendered as useless as stone." Raven answered me.

Did that mean that all of those Amazons and my dad were still alive? Then maybe there was still a chance to save them. Starfire kept flipping through the book, and eventually came upon some useful information.

"It says here that a weapon called the Phantom Sword is what had slain Bellum in the past. Perhaps if we find this sword, we can set things right again." She informed us.

"Sounds good. Star, keep looking through that book. Try to find any clues to where the sword may be." Robin ordered.

Starfire kept looking through the book, and by now Link went to sit beside her. I went over to the window and gazed out across the ocean. I could've sworn that I could hear the screams of innocent people being attacked and drained of their life force by Majellum. I couldn't help but feel that this was all my fault. I was the one that broke the barrier protecting Themyscira, which is how Ares was able to arrive and provide the means for Bellum to return to full power. I've failed everyone; my friends, my father, and the world.

"Hey, Nikki? How're you holding out?" Robin asked me.

He had caught me by surprise. I didn't even hear him approach. Not only that, but he called me 'Nikki' again. I guess that was short for Nicole, which was my real name, but I didn't expect Spikey to be calling me that so soon. Maybe this meant that he actually trusted me now.

"Oh, hey Spikey. I'm fine, I just… feel a little bad about what happened." I told him. "If I hadn't been there, Majora's plan wouldn't have worked, and he wouldn't be terrorizing people as an amalgamated squid-eyeball monster right now. Maybe my old gang-mates were right… maybe I never had what it takes to be a hero."

"Whatever that gang told you, it isn't true. You've proven to me more than once that you have more than what it takes to be a hero. Even if your father is the god of war, it doesn't mean you have to be." He told me.

I smiled at his comment. It was nice to know that I had friends who believed in me, and weren't just using me to further their own goals.

"Majora would've found a way to revive Bellum even if you hadn't been there. What matters right now is finding a way to stop him." Robin said.

I nodded, and went with him back into the ops room. Starfire was still looking through that book, and she hadn't found any info on where to find the Phantom Sword. By now the others were huddled around the book too, which wasn't exactly helping.

"I'm beginning to think that book doesn't know where the Phantom Sword is." Link mentioned.

"That's because the Phantom Sword does not exist on this world." A voice said from behind us.

We all turned around to see a white-haired woman wearing a long white dress standing in front of the entrance. Robin and Cyborg braced themselves for whatever would happen; but honestly, I don't think there was anything to worry about. Whoever this woman was, she did not look like an enemy. But hey, what did I know?

"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!" Robin demanded.

"The tower's alarm didn't even sound! How'd you get past my security?!" Cyborg questioned.

Robin was still ready to strike, but both Link and Starfire shouted out for him to stop. They both claimed that it was alright, and that this woman was a friend. Even Raven was nodding in agreement.

"Hey Kalena." Link said to the strange woman.

Kalena merely took a few steps forward, down the small flight of steps that separated the entrance from the main room. I was able to see a very faint glow surrounding her, though I wasn't sure if I was the only one to notice.

"Forgive my intrusion, but I believe that I have the information that you seek; the means obtain the Phantom Sword capable of slaying Bellum." Kalena told us.

Cyborg was thinking that this was some kind of trap, but Raven assured us that she could be trusted, for now. She explained that Kalena had helped them out against a villain called Vaati a few months ago, back when they were helping another friend of theirs named Ian. I was curious as to who Ian was, and why he wasn't here now. Raven told me that Ian was a shady boy they had met a while back. His birth had been influenced by Vaati's power, and he had been used to aid in his revival. In the end though, he saved everyone by sealing Vaati within his own body. Vaati was no longer a threat, but now Ian had all of Vaati's power within him, and it was very hard to control. So he went to Azarath, Raven's birthplace which existed in another dimension, for mental training. None of them knew when they would see him again, but I hoped that I would be around to meet him.

Back on the subject at hand, I asked Kalena about this 'Phantom Sword', and if she knew where to find it.

"Unfortunately, the Phantom Sword itself no longer exists. However, the components to make one do." Kalena told us. "Aquanine, Crimsonine, and Azurine. These are the three pure metals that when combined are capable of containing the sacred power that forms the Phantom Sword."

"Those sound more like some weird candies than metals." Beast Boy mentioned.

"Give it a rest, Beast Boy." Robin said. "Kalena, where can we find these metals."

"About that… only one of each of those metals have existed on Earth; the ones that were used to forge the previous Phantom Sword. As such, I do not know where you could find the metals." Kalena informed.

"What?! Well, why are you telling us this when it's pretty much impossible?!" I questioned.

As I freaked out, I randomly formed a whip in my hand. Seriously, this random weapon formation really ticked me off. Did it have something to do with my mood? I wasn't sure, but after I discarded the whip and awkwardly apologized, Starfire stood up and mentioned that she had heard the names of those metals before.

"I believe that those three substances are found upon three different worlds located not to far from my home planet Tamaran. I believe the worlds are known as Grele, Crimsone, and Neria." She told us.

"So you're saying that these metals are found on three different planets?! We have to go into space to find them?!" I asked.

This was apparently the case. But if this was true, then we had to leave the Earth while Majellum raged. By the time we got back, he could've eaten up everyone on the planet. Kalena had a solution to this as well. She asked Beast Boy for the Phantom Hourglass. Huh? The Phantom Hourglass? But it was back on Themyscira; besides, it was broken. We all looked at Beast Boy, who had an embarrassed look on his face. He then ran out of the room for a minute, then came back with the shattered remains of the Phantom Hourglass in his hands.

"How'd you get that?" Cyborg asked him.

"Heh. I… swiped it during all the commotion. Thought it'd make a nice souvenir." He answered.

He handed it over to Kalena, who held it out in front of her. A strange light surrounded it, and somehow it began to reassemble itself. Once it was fixed, the glass filled up about halfway with golden sand. She then handed it back to us.

"How did you do that?!" Link asked her.

"I have repaired the hourglass and placed some of my own power within it. As long as you keep it with you, Bellum will be unable to take your life force." Kalena told us.

"Ah yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"However, you will only be protected so long as the sand remains in the top of the hourglass. Once it runs out, Bellum can do with you as he pleases." She went on.

"But… can't you just flip it over to restart it?" I asked.

"No. The sand in the hourglass can only be restored from the light of the sun. Though I have placed enough in there to last you for about 72 hours." She answered.

"Well, at least we can just hold it up to the sun to give us more time." Beast Boy mentioned.

I hated to be the one to burst his bubble, but I mentioned to him that the entire sky was covered by dark storm clouds, so holding it up to the sun wouldn't exactly do any good right now. Beast Boy responded with a disappointed 'oh.' Well, now we knew where to find the stuff to make the Phantom Sword; now we had to decide who would be sent to find the stuff. Robin suggested that Link and Starfire would be best to sent. At first they argued against it, saying that the swords they held were our best chance at holding Majellum off. However, Link was currently unable to fight Majora due to Majora's new trick, and although Starfire's sword could, in theory, harm Majora, we had no way of knowing if the lives he had taken would be spared if he was struck down with the Spirit's Sword. They both eventually agreed.

"Okay! Now that that's settled, lets get ready to fight this guy!" I exclaimed.

"Umm… Scarlette?" Robin asked as he put his hand on my shoulder. "I think you should go with them too."

"What?!" I questioned. " But I can help!"

Kalena intervened by saying that I was a crucial part in creating the Phantom Sword.

"Me? Making the Phantom Sword? How does that work?" I asked her.

"With Bellum on a rampage right now, there is no time to forge an actual metal sword. However, by utilizing your demigod powers, you may be able to absorb the sacred energies of the metals; thus, allowing you to create a construct of the Phantom Sword, one that functions exactly the same as the real one." Kalena informed me.

"So what you're saying is… I'm key to this whole mission?" I asked.

Kalena nodded. I couldn't help but shout out 'awesome!' But I was a little embarrassed afterwards. As such, I agreed to go with Link and Starfire to these three planets, to create the weapon that could slay Bellum; a weapon that I was going to use! Heh. Not only was I going to help save the world, but I was also going to go into space! Tell me that's not exciting!

Before anyone went anywhere though, Raven approached Kalena, with a distrusting look in her eyes.

"Kalena, what are you, really? I can sense some kind of otherworldly energy coming from you. You're clearly not an ordinary human." Raven asked her.

"All I can say right now is that I am a messenger of the Spirits, here to aid the chosen heroes and their allies on their mission to protect the world from a great evil." Kalena answered.

Raven still looked at Kalena with distrust, but as there were more urgent matters at hand, she let the situation go for now.

There was hardly any time to lose. We all went to the docking bay where the T-ship was, and Link, Starfire, and I hopped in. Link and Starfire looked out from the cockpits and wished the others good luck at holding off Majellum.

"Try bringing back a souvenir!" Beast Boy shouted out.

"Take care of yourselves!" Cyborg shouted.

"Try not to get eaten out there." Raven said normally.

"Just come back in one piece!" Robin shouted.

"Will do, Spikey!" I shouted back at him.

The T-ship's engine started up, and a platform raised up that pointed the T-Ship towards the sky. Right before we blasted off, I heard Robin wish us good luck. I looked over towards him, and whispered to myself.

"Good luck to you too… Robin." I said, though I was the only one who heard it.

A few seconds later, the T-ship rocketed out of the docking bay and into the sky. Once we were beyond the Earth's atmosphere, the T-ship discarded the huge rockets that had blasted it into space. Starfire then activated the T-ships boosters, and we flew off into the vastness of space. Our first stop was the planet Grele. I didn't know what would await us there, but I knew that all three of us were determined to find the first pure metal; and once we had all three, I'd be able to use the Phantom Sword to slay Majellum, and put an end to this nightmare!