Hey there everybody! I'm sure you've probably been waiting for God knows how long, but at long last, your patience shall be rewarded! Here's the newest completed and posted chapter for this epic story! I hope you all enjoy it enough to make up for the ungodly amount of time you had to wait, and that you leave a nice respectable number of reviews. In this chapter, Vandal Savage learns about his latest failure in his efforts to kill the titans, and is royally pissed off. In fact, this soon leads not only to Savage cutting ties with Slade, but also with him having a conversation with Lucifer that ends with him having a change of plans in his efforts at helping the devil with his latest escape attempt. And finally, the very next day after all that drama, the titans continue their research from the previous day that got interrupted by Abaddon's attack and manage to make a major breakthrough in the process. Sound exciting? I sure as Hell hope so!

Now just so you all remember, I do not own Teen Titans, or any other elements of the DC universe used in this chapter, much less any religious elements. With that out of the way, read on, and enjoy! ^_^

Chapter 10:

A Race Against Time

Vandal Savage was in a black fury that evening. With a snarl of rage, he clenched his fists and glared furiously at the cringing Abrahamic wind demon before him. "THEY EXORCISED HIM?!"

Imbix winced at the sound of this furious shout. Gulping in fear, he nodded his head timidly up and down, and said, "Yes sir. The Titans were able to hold their own long enough to send him back home."

Vandal Savage snarled, clenched his fists, and leaned forward with his head facing the ground before letting out an inarticulate howl of rage and jerking his head back upwards to look Imbix in the eye once more. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!" the immortal cave man roared. "I WAS TOLD THAT SENDING ABADDON AFTER THEM WOULD BE FOOLPROOF AND THAT IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE, MUCH LESS THEM, TO SURVIVE AGAINST HIM!"

Imbix cringed, hung his head, and managed to fearfully whimper, "A . . . a . . . apparently . . . we were wrong."

Savage growled, clenched his fists once more, and started storming around the clearing where we was meeting with Imbix. For what seemed like an eternity to the terrified Imbix, Savage stormed around the clearing in a fit of blind fury. Eventually, Savage managed to calm down and quell his rage. But even after Savage had stopped actively raving and raging about, Imbix waited a full five minutes or so before daring to speak again.

"Sir," the purple demon stated, "there is something else you should know. Somehow, the green-skinned shape shifter has acquired the ability to exorcise us alongside the daughter of Trigon."

At the sound of this, Savage whirled around and gaped at the demon in a mixture of shock and fury. "WHAT?!" the cave man shouted. "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! HOW DARE YOU MAKE SUCH A PREPOSTEROUS CLAIM?!"

Imbix hissed in fear, cringed, and whimpered, "I'm telling the truth! I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears! By Lucifer's crown I swear!"

For a tense moment, Savage continued to snarl angrily, but eventually managed to close his eyes, take a deep breath, and exhale heavily. Having managed to once again calm himself down, he looked back at Imbix and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Imbix shook his head side to side hurriedly. "No sir," said Imbix. "There is nothing else I need to report."

"Good," said Savage. "You are dismissed."

At the sound of these words, Imbix made a half nervous and half relieved smile with his beak, and managed to whimper out, "Thank you," before leaning over and then proceeding to vanish into thin air in a style very similar to the way that teleporting/apparition had been portrayed in the Harry Potter movies.

The instant Imbix was gone, Savage proceeded to re clench his fists, close his eyes, and unleash a series of deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling heavily as he tried desperately to keep his temper from erupting once more. Eventually, Savage growled, turned to face the area to his left, and punched a nearby tree so hard that the tree in question ended up uprooting and falling right down on its side. "GGGRRRAAARRR!" Savage roared in absolute fury.

"I take it Abaddon was unsuccessful?"

At the sound of the deep baritone, and at that moment almost sarcastic and smug toned, voice behind him, Savage turned around to see none other than Slade standing nearby. Gritting his teeth in a tense snarl, Savage managed to sarcastically respond, "Wow, what gave it away?"

Slade chuckled, shook his head side to side, and then stated, "I must admit, I had a feeling that the titans would survive. They've always been able to survive against even worse opponents than Abaddon. If anyone could have gone against Abaddon and lived to tell the tale, it would be them."

Savage snarled, rolled his eyes, and then stated acerbically, "Well I guess that means you probably almost certainly would understand how it would be even remotely possible for that bloody green animal boy to all of a sudden gain the ability to exorcise demons in the time that occurred between last night's skirmish and Abaddon's attack."

Slade's eyebrow rose. "He has?"

Savage grunted in response, nodded his head in the affirmative, and then stated, "According to Imbix, yes he has. Didn't believe him at first. But when he swore his honesty about the matter on Lucifer's crown, it didn't take me very long at all to realize that he in fact was telling the truth, particularly since he would have gone up in lights and died upon making the vow if he'd been lying about the information he was swearing to be true."

"So he would have," Slade responded. He thought to himself, seemed to smile, and then said, "And on that note, yes I can indeed give you an explanation as to how such a turn of events would be possible."

The masked man turned his head to face Savage once more, and then stated, "In Azarathian culture, a religious leader has the authority to bestow their power to banish demons upon any person they deem worthy of being their successor. This would be how Raven managed to have it. Now Raven herself, being the chosen successor of Azar, was capable of doing the same for her own chosen 'successor' of sorts. However, as Raven herself is not a fully-fledged religious leader of Azarath, she could, unlike Azar, only bestow her exorcist powers upon a single person. And from what has happened today, it would appear that she has chosen for Beast Boy to be that person."

Savage raised his eyebrows upon hearing this explanation. "And how may I ask would you happen to know all this information?"

Slade chuckled, directed his gaze at Savage in what could very likely have been amusement, and responded, "Believe me Savage, when you've worked alongside Trigon as long as I have, you'll be surprised about just how much handy information about Azarathian culture you can end up learning."

Savage growled grudgingly, shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, and then spread his hands and arms out to his sides before shouting, "Well nonetheless, that doesn't change the fact that we have again failed to kill the Teen Titans! And considering how they were able to survive against a knight of Hell, much less Abaddon himself, do you have any idea how difficult it will be to kill them off and get the information we need from Lucifer in time for it to actually be of use to us?!"

Slade positioned his head as if thinking to himself, then shrugged nonchalantly with his eye closed before then stating flippantly, "It will certainly be difficult, that's for sure."

For a moment, Savage gaped in shock at his masked compatriot after hearing this dismissive comment." Then his eyes narrowed, he clenched his fists, and he growled ominously, "Deathstroke. Do you not understand the gravity of this situation?"

Slade had just enough time for his eye to narrow angrily at the sound of his old alias before Savage pointed his right finger at him in an almost accusatory fashion and shouted, "Lucifer won't give us the information we need to find that damned key unless we have successfully sent the Teen Titans on an early trip to the afterlife. If the titans aren't dead by turn of day tomorrow, then Lucifer will have to wait until either this winter at the very least or God knows how many years from now at the very most before he has the opportunity to put this particular plot of his in action! And with the rate we're currently going, the titans will be able to survive against all five of the knights of Hell at once without even breaking a sweat!"

Slade merely shrugged, and then responded, "I don't see the problem with that. I've always enjoyed a good challenge."

Savage glared incredulously at Slade. "I'm serious!" shouted the cave man. "Do you even want this plan to succeed?!"

Slade shrugged again, waved his hand slightly as if in dismissal, and stated, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't; it's all a matter of interpretation really."

For a second, Savage simply stared uncomprehendingly at Slade. Then his eyes narrowed, he clenched his fists, and he glared furiously at the masked man before stating, "You don't do you? You don't want this plan to succeed! You're not even going to try to help me and Lucifer with this are you!?"

Slade stared intently at Savage. "Well it certainly took you long enough to figure that out," he stated in an almost sarcastic tone before his eye narrowed, and he continued, "You are correct. I'm not going to help you with this. In fact, I could personally care less about Lucifer. And I will most certainly not have anything more to do with you, especially as long as you continue your foolish efforts at achieving your world domination goals from working alongside Lucifer. And I will not play any hand in helping you, or anyone else, actively kill the Teen Titans either."

Savage was briefly taken aback by this emphatic confirmation of his suspicions, but then his anger returned, he pointed at Slade, and he asked accusingly, "You knew the Titans would survive, didn't you?!"

Slade thought to himself, then shrugged, looked back at Savage once more, and replied truthfully, "I'd hoped they would."

This response further strengthened Savage's fury. "What has happened to you over these last five years Deathstroke!? You used to be the world's best contract killer and the arch nemesis of the Teen Titans! Why, just why, are you now on their side!?"

"I'm not on their side," Slade stated calmly, yet nonetheless firmly. "I'm on my own side."

Savage growled, and then stated, "Well regardless of just whose side you're on, what is it about these nightmare teenagers that's got you all up on your high horse?!"

"The answer to that is simple," Slade responded. "Unlike you, I respect the titans. They have always proven worthy opponents, and I've learned my lesson about underestimating them. And as much of a villain as I might be, I nonetheless believe that such worthy opponents of mine as the Teen Titans deserve far better than being dismissed as children when they're already as close as they currently are to legal adult age and being slaughtered like animals by a race of beings too impatient to let the world's story unfold the way it's been foretold."

"Well we'll see how much your unnecessary respect helps you without the payment I was willing to give you in exchange for your service alongside me!" Savage yelled.

"You can go ahead and keep that payment," Slade stated as he pointed his finger at Savage. "It's not like you were even remotely planning to give it to me anyway."

Savage snarled in fury at Slade's continued stance against him as well as consternation at how Slade had been able to successfully interpret that he'd had no intention at all of giving him the payment he'd promised.

Slade stood tall, glared at Savage, and stated, "This partnership is over Savage; our agreement is void. I will not help you anymore with this insanity. I've already worked alongside one satanic figure, and I wouldn't have even worked alongside that single one if it hadn't been for the fact that I was practically a ghost at that time; and having been instrumental in the last attempt at the apocalypse to have occurred, I'd prefer to not have any direct involvement in any others, thank you very much."

The masked man pointed at the immortal caveman once more and said, "You can continue to follow your fools' quest with Lucifer as long as you want, I won't stop you. But I have far more important things to do that will be far less wasteful of my time and have been put off far too long."

Slade turned around so that his back was facing Savage, and then turned his head to face the caveman and said, "Goodbye Savage, I must admit that I'm not sorry that we must now part ways, and if I ever see your face again, I very much hope that it's on the sharp end of a wooden stake." With this hostile parting call, Slade turned his head away from Savage, and proceeded to quickly, yet quietly, rush off into the darkness of the forest. Savage growled, furious at both Slade's actions and his recent failure at having the Teen Titans killed. Eventually, with his fists still clenched, he took a series of deep breathes, managed to calm himself down somewhat once again, and proceeded to turn to face the direction opposite the one Slade had went before storming off in that direction towards the area he'd used for his meetings with Lucifer. He now had a feeling that yet another discussion with the devil was in order.

. . . . .

"I'm presuming from your current mood and voice tone that you have heard the news."

Savage growled irritably at the sound of Lucifer's smug voice from the other side of the fiery vortex. The fourteen blood red eyes likewise had a smug gleam within them as they stared intently at Savage with half of them positioned as if they'd raised their eyebrows. Gritting his teeth, the caveman stated, "I should have guessed that you'd already be aware of what's happened at this point."

Lucifer chuckled, moved as if shaking his seven heads from side to side, and responded "Indeed you should. After all, even without considering how Abaddon came plopping back down in my chamber hours before Imbix told you what happened, word has always traveled fast within Hell."

Savage growled again, shook his head side to side as if trying to clear his thoughts, and then glared back at the fourteen red eyes of Lucifer gazing back at him from the vortex before saying, "Well never mind that. The point to be made from this news is that the Titans have again managed to survive to foil our efforts, or more accurately at this point my efforts alone, to assassinate them."

"You certainly would be accurate in stating that the efforts were entirely yours alone," Lucifer responded. "After all, with dear old Slade having both not even tried to help you in your early attempts and now having practically nullified all chances of ever potentially giving you any help in that regard not too long ago, and myself just lounging around in my chamber while you and my underlings did all the work, that leaves you as the only one who could have possibly held any true responsibility in working to make the arrangements for the efforts at having the Teen Titans killed."

It took all of Savage's willpower not to explode in anger at this almost mocking statement from the fallen archangel. Gritting his teeth, Savage stated, "I see you're aware of Slade's cutting ties with us as well huh?"

"My brothers and I didn't inherit our father's omniscience for nothing," Lucifer replied.

"Well nonetheless," Savage stated angrily. "The titans are still alive, and they have now not only proven that it will likely be impossible for us to kill them in time for you to deem me worthy of knowing the location of the nearest entrance to where the Infernal Key has been hidden in time for it to be of any use this year, but they have also at this point managed to receive aid from the Brotherhood of Dante and will almost certainly be able to figure out about your current plan and prevent it from ever having the chance to succeed at all! So unless you have any advice on how it might be even remotely possible for this current plan of yours that you've decided to make an attempt at to succeed at this point, then you might as well just wait until the end of the 666th century like your high and mighty daddy wants you to!"

Having finished this furious tirade, Savage closed his eyes, his fists still clenched, and panted heavily. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Lucifer appeared as if he'd hardly been affected in anyway by the furious and almost insulting rant that had just now been directed at him. In fact, the fourteen red dragon-like eyes of the being staring at him from the darkness within the flaming vortex seemed to have an almost bored look within them.

"I am indeed very much aware of how much progress the titans have made in their efforts to figure out what we are up to," Lucifer stated seconds before Savage could explode in anger yet again. "And indeed, it will be supremely difficult at the very least, and impossible at the very most for you to fulfill the task I originally asked for you to complete in exchange for the location of the nearest entrance to my crypt."

"Tell me something I don't know," Savage hissed bitterly.

Lucifer chuckled, his eyes narrowing with what appeared to a predatory glee, and stated, "Well I can definitely tell you right this very moment, that with the current amount of progress the titans have made in their quest to figure out the reason behind your efforts to have them killed, you will now no longer find it necessary to kill them in exchange for the information you currently desire from me."

At the sound of this, Savage raised his eyebrow in half suspicion and half anticipation. "Are you saying that you are now willing to go ahead and tell me this information for free?"

"Don't be daft," said the king of Hell. "Of course I'm not." Savage had just enough time for his eyes to narrow in yet another angry glare before Lucifer continued, "But I now know of something you could do so that I won't even have to go to the trouble of telling you the location of any one of the thirteen entrances to my crypt, let alone the nearest one to your current whereabouts."

At the sound of this, Savage directed a look of confusion at the fourteen red eyes of Lucifer. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," said Lucifer, "that the titans will now be of far more use to us alive then if they were dead." In order to forestall any further questions from Savage, Lucifer explained, "Let the titans become aware of what it is I am currently plotting. They've already managed to gain access to all the data gathered by the Brotherhood of Dante in its entirety, and it shouldn't take them very long at all to put all the pieces together. And once they have, you yourself can both figure out the location of the nearest entrance to my crypt and get ahold of the Infernal Key by following them right to it."

Savage thought to himself carefully upon hearing this information. Then he smiled, for what Lucifer had now suggested sounded like a very useful idea indeed. "I see," Savage said to himself before looking back at Lucifer with a smile and saying, "Very well then, I shall do exactly that. But are you absolutely sure that the titans will figure out your current plan and make an attempt to get the key themselves in time?"

"You have no need to worry about that," Lucifer replied. "Knowing them, they won't wait until the last minute to try to figure out what it is I am up to, especially not after how Abaddon conveniently revealed that they have until the day after tomorrow to put a stop to it. That being said, considering the current streak of luck they've had, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they managed to figure it all out first thing tomorrow morning after breakfast."

. . . . .

Unfortunately, as it would turn out, the Teen Titans would not end up figuring it all out first thing after breakfast the following morning. To their credit, all five of them had been perfectly willing to get straight to work on their interrupted research from the previous day after finishing their breakfast. However, Robin had literally just clapped his hands as if to signal for them to get to work when the alarm had gone off to alert them of trouble within the city, and they'd been forced to put their efforts at figuring out Lucifer's plot on hold in order to help foil a robbery at the Bank of Perez by a gang of mundane criminals.

Unfortunately, upon leaving the tower to deal with the robbery, the titans had only continued to find themselves further delaying their research again and again. Due to the robbers' sheer numbers, it had taken about half an hour for them to defeat them all and have them reduced to ideal condition for them to be carted off to jail. However, no sooner had the police left the bank area to take the robbers to jail when the titans had been alerted on their communicators about the H.I.V.E. Five terrorizing people at the Jump City Shopping Mall.

By the time they'd finished taking care of that little errand, all the effort involved had left them so hungry that they'd been forced to delay their research yet again for a lunch break. Unfortunately, all of two seconds passed after the titans had finished their lunch before they were called upon to deal with a dangerous light show that Dr. Light had decided to put on at the Jump City Zoo. While it had only taken ten minutes to reach the zoo and half that much time to actually defeat Dr. Light, the aftermath of all the attacks involved with the battle combined with the antics the doctor had managed to pull off before the arrival of the titans had allowed about 90% or so of the animals to escape from their enclosures. Thus the titans had ended up losing another five hours that they'd hoped to put to use for continuing the previous day's research rounding up the escaped animals and having them all successfully secured back into their enclosures.

By the time they'd finally finished quelling all the chaos at the zoo, it was 6:00 in the evening, and the titans had wasted no time whatsoever in heading back to the tower. However, the titans had literally just stepped foot into the common room of the tower when they'd been called to action yet again, this time to deal with Control Freak causing trouble at the video rental store. At this point, Robin had gotten so angry, that he'd promptly had Raven summon a portal straight to the video rental store. Raven had made no hesitation in summoning the portal, which Robin had jumped through exactly one second after it had finished forming. As a result, Robin had ended up right inside the store right as Control Freak was seconds away from pressing a button on his remote, and thus very likely either transforming an inanimate object into a savage monster or summoning a villain or creature from a movie or TV show. Upon sight of this, Robin had promptly rushed up to Control Freak, grabbed him by the lapel, and dragged him up so that he was staring the portly couch potato miscreant in the face before he'd even had a chance to press a single button on the remote. Seconds later, the other titans had come through the portal just in time to hear and see Robin furiously roar at Control Freak, "LISTEN UP YOU LITTLE PUNK! I'VE HAD AN EXTREMELY ROTTEN DAY TODAY, AND YOUR CURRENT ANTICS HAVE JUST FORCED ME FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN A ROW TO DELAY WORK ON A CASE THAT, IF LEFT UNSOLVED, COULD RESULT IN THE END OF THE WORLD! SO UNLESS YOU PUT AN END TO THIS MADNESS RIGHT THIS SECOND, THEN SO HELP ME, I WILL BEAT YOU DEATH RIGHT HERE IN THIS STORE WITH MY BARE HANDS! YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?" This had left Control Freak so terrified that he'd promptly dropped his remote without having pressed any buttons at all and surrendered right on the spot. After that, Robin and the other titans had only stuck around long enough for the police to arrive and get Control Freak loaded up into the cruiser to be taken back to jail before promptly taking another portal straight back to the tower.

Fortunately, after arriving back at the tower this time the titans had finally managed to get the desperately needed break in their work to finally get back to focusing on their efforts to find out what it was that Savage was trying to have them killed for. And for the next fifteen minutes, the titans proceeded to start carefully reading the section of the Brotherhood of Dante's database that contained information on confirmed and theorized Lucifer escape plots while chowing down on instant mac & cheese at the same time.

As the titans continued to read over the numerous theories of potential escape plots for the devil, Robin found himself fighting with all his willpower to keep himself calm. If it hadn't been for the fact that Starfire currently had her right hand on his left shoulder in a desperate effort to help keep him relaxed, he had a feeling that he would have probably already gone flying off the handle by now.

"How can we even be sure that whatever it is Savage wants us dead for will even be included in there?" Cyborg asked at one point.

Robin sighed, took a deep breath, and stated, "If there's any source in this entire database that might contain even the slightest hint at whatever it is Savage is willing to have us killed for, it's this section. Odds are, whatever it is Savage wants is somehow related to one of these theories the Brotherhood of Dante has managed to consider."

"What if it turns out to be something that the Brotherhood hasn't even thought of yet?" Raven asked.

Robin took a deep breath, clenching his fist around the edge of the desk area where the supercomputer he was using was located, clearly struggling to keep it together, and said, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But for now, we'll at least work to see if any of the possibilities that the Brotherhood of Dante has considered shows any reason for why Savage would want to have us killed to get information about it from Lucifer."

"What if Lucifer does turn out to be plotting something on this list, but it turns out to be different from the one that we do decide is the most likely?" Beast Boy asked.

Robin tensed up ominously, and after what seemed like an eternity, he eventually stated with gritted teeth, "Well if that happens, we'll just improvise." He then turned his head to face Beast Boy, and shouted furiously, "NOW FOR GOD'S SAKE, STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME WORRY!" As he shouted this, he slammed his left fist on the desk so hard that the hard material it was made of actually cracked.

Beast Boy reared back in shock and horror. For a few tense minutes, Robin continued to glare murderously at Beast Boy. Eventually, much to the titans' relief, Robin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then stated, "I'm sorry. I so shouldn't have done that." Robin turned his head to face the computer once more, sighed, and then stated, "I'm just really stressed out right now. I know that we didn't have any other choice, but I just wish that we hadn't had to wait till now to get back to work on this. If what Abaddon told us directly before he attacked yesterday is true, then tonight could very well be our last chance to put a stop to whatever it is Lucifer is planning. That being said, the world could be at risk of undergoing the apocalypse all over again tomorrow, and we still don't yet even know what it is we're trying to stop. And I just wish that we could have managed to figure this out earlier than this. I know we've averted one apocalypse, but if this particular version of it successfully unfolds, then we might not even get the chance to survive and fight back this time. And I just feel as if we're about to let so many people down."

Starfire placed her hand back on Robin's shoulder, her face showing a mixture of sadness and compassion. "It's ok Robin, you don't need to worry so much. Just have some faith; we will stop whatever it is that Earth's equivalent of Ahz'rogha is up to. We will not fail this time, not when the world truly needs us to succeed."

Robin sighed, comforted by Starfire's efforts to cheer him up, but still feeling depressed by the lack of progress they'd made in spite of how little time they had to figure it all out. "Thanks Star," he stated, "but I just wish that we could have made enough progress by now for me to find it easier to believe that."

At the sound of this, Cyborg came up closer to Robin and placed his hand on the boy wonder's other shoulder. When Robin and Starfire turned their heads to face Cyborg, the bionic teen said, "Why don't you let me have a turn at the computer? Maybe if someone is else does the reading of all this stuff for you, you'll find it easier to relax."

Robin thought to himself, looked back at the screen, and then looked at Cyborg again before saying, "If you say so." Sighing with exhaustion, Robin got up from the chair and let Cyborg take the chair. For the next few minutes that followed, Cyborg proceeded to look through yet more of the files on theorized escape plots of Lucifer.

At around 7:00 pm, Beast Boy suddenly pointed at the screen and yelled, "Wait! Go back to that other one you were on!"

Cyborg looked intently at the screen area the changeling was pointing at, his eyebrows raising in confusion. "That one about the sacrificing of three innocent individuals?"

"No," said Beast Boy. "The one above that one! The one about the keys!"

"The keys of Dante?" Raven asked.

"Yes! That one!" Beast Boy. "I think I might have just remembered a potential connection to that theory!"

Cyborg looked back at the caption beneath the title link of the document in question. "You sure?"

Beast Boy groaned, leaned over so that he could grab onto the mouse, and said, "Here, let me show you," as he proceeded to click on the link and reopen the document in question.

"What makes you so sure that this is the one we're looking for?" Robin asked.

"Abaddon said yesterday before he attacked us that Savage only needed one key element at this point, emphasis on key," Beast Boy replied.

"You think he might have literally meant an actual key?" Cyborg asked.

"We can't ignore the possibility," said Raven.

"Thank you Raven," said Beast Boy as he read through the generic description of the theorized escape plot for Lucifer before then clicking on another link that related to a document specifically on the keys is question.

Upon opening this new document, Beast Boy began to intently read the information within while the other titans intently watched over his shoulders. "Hmm," said Beast Boy. "Ok, according to this, not too long after Dante finished his journey through the realms of the afterlife, he began to believe that there might potentially come a time in which the angels would need to come to Earth in full force without having to potentially waste time by exiting Heaven through the main gates and having to fly all the way down to Earth and into the realm of the living from there. So for that purpose, he had some sort of white gemstone-like object forged that he called, the Paradisiacal Key. And to avoid upsetting the balance of power between the Afterlife realms, he also created two other keys, a red one called the Infernal Key, and a black one called the Purgatorial Key."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Robin asked.

"Well," said Beast Boy. "According to this database, apparently there are these things called Stairways to Heaven. According to the database, a stairway to Heaven is basically a corporeal portal on Earth that leads straight to Heaven. If opened, angels can use it to come straight to Earth without having to make their way through the veil between the afterlife and the realm of the living. Similar concept exists with Devil's gates for Hell and Purgatory Paths for, well obviously Purgatory.

"However, regardless of whether it's a Stairway to Heaven, Devil's Gate, or Purgatory Path, they can only be opened from the outside, and if opened through the default spell, they only stay open for a limited amount of time, and is only strong enough for angels, demons, and Primordials to leave their respective realms in their incorporeal forms. However, with these keys, a person can open up the very first stairway to Heaven, Devil's gate, or Purgatorial path ever to exist."

"What's so special about them?" Cyborg asked.

"According to the database," Beast Boy replied, "These ones in particular are both capable of staying open for an indefinite amount of time and for allowing the respective natives of whichever realm has been opened to come to Earth in their corporeal forms."

"I am confused," said Starfire. "Weren't they not in corporeal forms when they attacked us before?"

"That's because they were either summoned," Beast Boy responded, "or they used the main entrance of Hell itself when they exited it to come to the realm of the living. But according to this, if they use any portal apart from the very first ones to exist, they end up coming out not only in incorporeal form, but they're also so weak that they absolutely cannot attack or even do anything else whatsoever unless they take possession of a vessel. And according to the database, this is especially problematic for angels since, unlike with demons and Primordials, it's physically impossible for them to take possession of a vessel unless they are given permission to do so by their desired hosts."

At the sound of this, Robin whistled. "Well in that case," he said, "I can certainly see the appeal in a portal that would allow them to come to Earth without having to use a vessel."

"No kidding," said Cyborg. "Not to mention this certainly explains why demonic possession appears to be so common compared to angelic possession."

"Indeed" said Beast Boy with a smile. "And to continue, the very first of these portals can only be opened through use of their respective keys."

At the sound of this, three of Beast Boy's fellow titans nodded their heads in understanding. Starfire, however, still looked confused. "Pardon me friend," she stated. "But there is something I still don't understand. With such tools in existence, why hasn't the one for your equivalent of Dahak already been used by the demons for their own advantage?"

"Very good point Star," said Beast Boy. "And apparently, Dante was also smart enough to consider that possibility." He pointed at an area of the document and said, "Because it says right here that, when he had the keys created, he also embedded a special security spell that would prevent the demons, Primordials, or even angels from using them for their own gains. As per the spells, if a demon tried to use any of the keys, it would be blasted back down to Hell. If an angel tried to use any of the keys, it would go rocketing back up to Heaven. Finally, if a Primordial tried to use one of the keys, it would end up back in Purgatory before it could even blink."

He turned his head to look back at his friends, a cheeky grin on his face, and said, "In other words, only a human would be capable of opening those gates."

At the sound of these words, the other titans eventually nodded. "Well that explains a lot," said Robin.

Beast Boy nodded, and then continued reading the documented information. "And according to this, not too long after being created, Dante had the keys hidden away in areas where no one could find them. In particular, he had both the Paradisiacal and Purgatorial Keys hidden in some place called Jehovah's Temple and the Infernal Key in a different place called Lucifer's Crypt."

At the sound of those two names, Raven's eyes widened, and she lifted up a finger before saying, "I think I may have read about those two places before."

Robin promptly seized this newfound opportunity for information, and he said, "What do you know about those two places?" The other titans seemed equally eager to hear what Raven had to say. Even Beast Boy stayed silent so as to be polite and let Raven have the spotlight.

Raven thought to herself. Then she answered, "I remember reading that that both places cannot be found directly on Earth, but are instead each located in their own pocket dimension. However, there are portals on Earth that can be opened with the right spell to both locations. There are seven for Jehovah's Temple and thirteen for Lucifer's Crypt. And what's more, if you destroy the locations for six of the Jehovah's Temple portals, the last one will automatically shut down and the entire set will be reborn in a new set of seven locations. Likewise, the same occurs if twelve of the locations for the Lucifer's Crypt portals are destroyed."

"Did the books say at all where the portal locations are?" Robin asked.

"No," Raven replied. "That detail was where the books' trail ran dry."

"It does give hints as to the current locations here though," Beast Boy said as he pointed at the screen. "Though admittedly, the descriptions are rather confusing and roundabout."

"Well what are the descriptions given?" Robin asked.

"Let's see," said Beast Boy as he stared intently at the descriptions of the current locations for the portals he was currently researching. "Ok, the current set of portals for Jehovah's Temple are reportedly located in, and I'm directly quoting what it says here, 'a barrier designed to shield almost an entire kingdom, a bookless library built within the walls of a canyon, the son of God eternally standing in all his glory, an abandoned mountain top city, an empty temple of a dead religion, an arena stained with oceans of blood, and a tomb worthy of being a palace.'"

"What the devil is all that supposed to mean?" Cyborg asked.

Robin, however, found himself thinking hard to himself. For some reason, those rather unusual descriptions sounded oddly familiar to him in some way. "Ok," he then stated. "Does it give descriptions for any previous sets of portal locations for Jehovah's Temple?"

"Yep," said Beast Boy. He pointed at a list directly above the one he'd read, and then responded, "The set that existed directly before the current one could be found within, and I quote, 'a cluster of tombs for desert kings, a garden lost to mythology, a statue of a god strong enough to grip lightning within its very fingertips, the temple of a master huntress, a tomb of both husband and wife and brother and sister, a statue to celebrate the sun rising to witness a great victory, and a lighthouse with light so bright that it took three attacks from an angry earth to extinguish it.'"

The sound of these descriptions was all Robin needed to confirm his newfound thoughts about just what the locations for the Jehovah's Temple portals were, and he nodded his head up and down with his eyes closed before saying, "The seven portals of Jehovah's Temple located in the Seven Wonders of the World. Obvious much?"

"Isn't the most obvious not the least expected?" Starfire asked. This question momentarily left the other titans stunned speechless. Then they thought to themselves, and nodded in agreement as they realized the logic in Starfire's statement.

"She certainly does have a point," said Cyborg. "Though I have to ask, what exactly about those descriptions BB read about caused you to determine that the seven wonders had anything to do with this?"

"The Great Wall of China was originally designed to protect China and its then empire from raids and invasions by nomadic groups from outside. In the country of Jordan, an entire city called Petra was carved into the wall of a canyon, but it has since been empty and sometimes even referred to as a library. In Brazil, there's a big giant statue of Jesus himself called Christ the Redeemer. In Peru, there is an abandoned mountain top Inca city called Machu Picchu. One of the most famous Mayan temples in the world is Chichen Itza. In Italy, the old Roman Coliseum used to be the site of countless battles in which people were forced to do battle with wild animals and each other for the amusement of crowds. Finally, the Taj Mahal in India looks very much like a palace, but is actually a tomb for the third wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan."

This explanation from Robin left Cyborg quite taken aback, and before the half robot teen could say anything else, the boy wonder continued, "The Egyptian Pyramids, particularly the famous ones in Giza, are both tombs, and were often reserved for pharaohs, who were basically the ancient Egyptian equivalent of kings. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are the only ancient wonder of the world with a location that's never yet been confirmed, resulting in doubt over whether or not they actually ever existed. In Greek mythology, the king of the gods, Zeus himself, was believed to grasp bolts of pure lightning in his hands and hurl them down to Earth when angry, and there used to be a large statue of him located in a temple dedicated to him at the city of Olympia. There was once a temple in the Turkish city of Ephesus dedicated to Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt. The mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb for Mausolus and Artemesia, who were both a married couple and also siblings. The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of Helios, the Greek god of the sun, and was designed to celebrate the victory of Rhodes against the forces of the ruler of Cyprus. Finally, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was able to remain standing until badly damaged beyond hope of repair by three earthquakes that occurred between 956 and 1323."

At the sound of all this, Cyborg and the other titans looked each other in the eyes, and then nodded their heads up and down. Robin's explanation certainly made sense. "You certainly know your history Robin," said Raven.

"Crime fighting wasn't the only thing Batman taught me about," Robin stated before looking back at Beast Boy. "What about the entrances to Lucifer's Crypt? Does it give any hints as to those locations?"

"Yes," said Beast Boy. "However, unlike with Jehovah's Temple, I have a feeling that these ones will be pretty obscure, even for you."

Robin took a look at the descriptions provided for all the confirmed locations of entrances to the crypt, and his eyes narrowed as he realized that Beast Boy was correct. "There certainly aren't any famous locations that spring to mind upon reading these descriptions," the boy wonder admitted grudgingly.

"I guess Lucifer must have decided to take the 'more obscure means harder to find' approach," said Raven.

Robin growled grudgingly in agreement, and Cyborg decided that now was the time to intervene once more. "Hey BB," he said, "why don't you go ahead and continue reading that document, see if we can find some more information about all this before getting back to figuring out about the locations of Lucifer's Crypt."

Beast Boy nodded, and promptly complied with Cyborg's request. "Well," said the changeling. "Here's something, apparently, even with the keys, there's still no absolute guarantee that whatever afterlife beings you open the gate for will actually listen to you. Granted, if you do it for purely selfless reasons, then the demons, angels, or Primordials will indeed be willing to do as you ask of them. However, if summoned through those gates for more selfish reasons, then they absolutely will not listen to your commands unless you also have two other things in your possession."

"What are those items?" Robin asked.

"Well according to this," said Beast Boy. "For each of the three afterlife races, there is a special tablet that documents all there is to know about them; their names, their ranks, how old they are, all the spells related to summoning them and such, and even detailed information on their respective realms. And naturally, the tablet for angels is called the Paradisiacal Tablet, the one for demons the Infernal Tablet, and the one for Primordials the Purgatorial Tablet.

"As for the other thing," said Beast Boy, "well actually the Brotherhood really might need to do a little work on their grammar, because apparently the last thing is actually really more of a collection of objects as opposed to a single item. The object collection needed for both angels and Primordials is called the Divine Instruments, whereas the collection for demons is called the Fallen Tools."

"I've read about those," said Raven. "Each of these sets of items consist of three items that all serve similar purposes to each other, but have effects that vary depending on whether or not they were designed by Lucifer or by his father and brothers. The first of the Divine Instruments is the Holy Grail."

"Isn't that the chalice that Jesus drank out of during the last supper?" Cyborg asked.

"Correct," said Raven. "There is also the Sword of Virtue, which is fueled by the power of Heaven and is designed to allow any person of noble nature destined for Heaven to be unbeatable when wielding it. Finally, there is the Mirror of Heaven, which despite the name is actually a shield designed to make a virtuous one invincible to all attacks and actions by those who are evil."

"What about the Fallen Tools?" Robin asked.

"Those, while slightly similar to the Divine Instruments, serve a far darker purpose," Raven responded. "There is the Chalice of Sins, which is said to magically fill up with a liquid that, if drunk, will cause the drinker's soul to become dark and twisted to the point of transforming the drinker into a demon. This same goblet is what modern demonologists believe to have been used by Lucifer when he twisted the soul of Lilith and transformed her into the first demon."

The other titans gulped upon hearing this description. "Well I certainly wouldn't want to take a drink from that thing," Beast Boy stated.

"You think?!" Cyborg asked.

"Please continue friend Raven," Starfire said, eager to get her mind off of the disturbing images she'd just now thought of upon hearing the description of the depraved chalice.

"The second item among the Fallen Tools is called the Devil's Scepter," said Raven. "Said to be a pure black obsidian staff with a ruby on the top, this staff is designed to allow the wielder to summon demons. However, unlike with the typical demon summoning spells, if this staff is used, then the demons summoned will be guaranteed to obey the summoner regardless of their rank or their numbers."

"In other words," said Robin, "you'd be able to summon every single demon in Hell at once and be able to have them guaranteed to follow your every command."

"Exactly," said Raven. "Finally, the last of the Fallen Tools is called the Eye of Lucifer. This particular object is a crystal ball made of a transparent diamond like material. It's designed to allow a viewer to witness anything that the viewer asks to witness, regardless of the distance, how well hidden it is, or even if the object in question is invisible or in another dimension."

"Dang," said Cyborg, "this takes omniscience to a whole new level."

"You can say that again Cy," said Robin. "And now that I think about it, I remember now that Abaddon said yesterday that Savage had spent the last three months two steps ahead of us. At first I thought he meant in terms of location or timing; but now I'm thinking that Abaddon may have been referring to how many of the items needed to be granted full control over the demons he had in his possession. In combination with what Abaddon said about Savage needing only one key element, emphasis on key, I'm thinking that Savage has managed to get ahold of both the Infernal Tablet and the Fallen Tools, but still needs only to obtain the actual Infernal Key of Dante."

"But why would he not already have it?" Starfire asked. "And if he's already gotten ahold of the other items he needs, then what's to stop him from going back to get the key?"

"Maybe he didn't get them himself," said Beast Boy. "Maybe he had someone else who did know the location of the entrances go there and get the items for him."

At the sound of that suggestion, Robin suddenly had another thought. "I just remembered something from the news three months ago," he stated before stating to Beast Boy, "Can I minimize that for a second?"

"Go ahead," said the changeling. In a flash, Robin had minimized the entire Brotherhood of Dante database, opened up the internet, and typed in a search query. When the results popped up, he clicked on a link for an article on the local Jump City News website. The title of the article was 'Wanted Thief Found Dead.'

"I remember reading about this before," said Robin. He pointed at a picture of the thief in question, a man who looked to be around middle age with graying blonde hair that looked as if it were starting to recede. "Damian Wormwood; a master thief notorious for how he'd often try to steal high profile artifacts and other items from museums and other locations they were on display at. Three months ago, he was reportedly found dead in the forest area southeast of Jump City's borders. Due to how he was covered practically head to toe with scratches, lacerations, and even what looked like teeth marks, he was originally thought to have been killed in an animal attack. But the police began to suspect that something different was involved when the resulting investigation showed that there was no sign of any DNA from any recognizable local carnivore or even any other evidence at all aside from what suspiciously enough look sulfur almost completely covering his body."

"I did read that Abrahamic demons leave traces of sulfur on everything they touch," said Raven.

"Good to know," said Robin. "That bit of information now strengthens my current belief that Wormwood may have managed to somehow find one of the nearest entrance locations to Lucifer's Crypt and gotten ahold of the Infernal Tablet and Fallen Tools, but was forced to flee before he could get ahold of the Infernal Key and ended up getting killed by demons that I guess must have been guarding the area. With Wormwood dead, I'm guessing the demons that killed him must have then reclaimed the stolen items from him and had them delivered to Savage."

Robin then lifted up his finger as if about to state another point, and then said, "And with that being said, with Savage not having been the one who went to the Crypt to get ahold of those other items himself and Wormwood dead before he could tell anyone else about where he got them, Savage himself still doesn't know the location of any of the entrances to Lucifer's Crypt. Therefore, it is very likely that the information Lucifer was willing to give to him in exchange for our deaths was the location of the Lucifer's Crypt portal entrance that was the closest to Jump City." The boy wonder then looked back at Beast Boy and asked, "Beast Boy, is there anything else in there you think we should know before we get back to trying to figure out that same information?"

Beast Boy looked back at the screen, started reading at the spot where he'd previously left off, and said, "Well apparently, even if one does manage to get ahold of Dante's keys or even those other things needed, the keys themselves are apparently very high maintenance when it comes to the timing for their use. According to this, all three of the keys can only be used once every seventh century."

Robin and Cyborg whistled upon hearing this. "Wow," said Cyborg, "that's certainly a long time to wait; I guess you'd have to really make it count if you decide to use it."

"It's currently the 21st century," said Robin. "So now would definitely be a good time to use them."

"That's not all," said Beast Boy. "The keys not only work only on specific years, but also apparently on specific days."

"Which days?" Robin asked.

Beast Boy squinted intently at the description given about the timing. "Um, it says here that the keys will only work on either A: a day where light is stronger than darkness, B: a day where darkness is stronger than light, or C: a day where light and darkness are equally abundant."

While three of the other titans started thinking to themselves as to what that cryptic description could mean, Robin looked as if he'd suddenly had an epiphany. "Wait a second," he said before he bolted over to the kitchen area and started hectically looking through cabinets and other spots within the kitchen. "Where is it? Where is it?" he asked himself.

"What are you looking for?" Starfire asked.

"I know it's here somewhere," Robin stated, almost completely ignoring Starfire's question. Then he just happened to open one cabinet he hadn't yet searched, and he said, "There it is," before looking intently at whatever had caught his attention. Seconds later, he said, "Of course," before grabbing onto the then hidden from view object and running back over to the computer area with it. The object in question turned out to be a calendar.

Upon reaching the other titans, Robin slammed the calendar down on the desk right next to the keyboard and pointed at the calendar square for the very next day. "Look at this," he stated. The other titans complied. "What's tomorrow?" Robin asked.

Beast Boy squinted intently at the calendar date Robin had indicated, and said half questioningly, "The summer solstice?"

"Exactly," said Robin. "And what's the most important detail about this day?"

Surprisingly enough, Starfire answered. "Isn't this the time you told me about in which the daytime lasts longer than the night?"

"Exactly Star!" Robin yelled in approval with a hint of pride in his facial expression as he pointed at his girlfriend. "And that being said, the light is in more abundance on that day then darkness."

"Which would make the winter solstice a day in which darkness is stronger than light," said Raven.

"And thus the vernal and autumnal equinoxes would be the days in which light and darkness are equal in abundance," Beast Boy stated.

"Exactly!" Robin yelled proudly. "And remember what Abaddon said before he attacked us? He said that as of yesterday, there would be two days left to wait before all Hell broke loose, and tomorrow's the summer solstice! It all makes sense now!"

"But we still need to know at least one of the locations where we can find an entrance to Lucifer's Crypt," said Cyborg.

"And apparently, so does Savage," said Beast Boy.

However, right at that moment, Robin smiled as he had yet another major thought. "Actually," said the boy wonder, "if I remember correctly, I might have an idea of the nearest one to Jump City. Beast Boy, may I see the descriptions of the current locations for the Lucifer's Crypt portals again?"

Beast Boy minimized the internet window, opened the database back up, and positioned the screen so that Robin could read the descriptions in question once more. The boy wonder leaned over Beast Boy's shoulder, read the descriptions carefully, and smiled before looking at Starfire and saying, "Star, you did say that the most obvious is often the least expected right?"

Starfire nodded, remembering very clearly how she'd said that not too long ago.

Smile still on his face, Robin quickly minimized the database document once again, restored the internet window, and started typing in the search query box while saying, "Well it said in that database document that one of the locations is a, quote on quote, 'A giant stone in the image of Lucifer's seven heads.' That being said, combined with the fact that Lucifer is said to take on the form of a seven headed dragon, and the location where Damien Wormwood's body was found, I have a feeling that I now know a very obvious choice of location to fit that criteria."

No sooner had Robin said this when he pressed the enter key, and the internet search engine did its work. He accessed the images option and pointed at a picture of what appeared to be a cluster of stones piled up and positioned together so that they formed what appeared to be the shape of a dragon's head. "This peculiar natural oddity is located in Dragon's Head Valley, which is located 6 miles to the southeast of Jump City, and is only three miles away from where Damian Wormwood's body was found. Plus, that one particular dragon head shaped rock formation seems to more or less fit the profile given here in this database. Therefore, I say that Dragon's Head Valley is our best bet at beating Savage to Lucifer's Crypt and obtaining the Infernal Key." He clasped his hands together, looked at Raven, and asked, "Raven, did those books you read about Jehovah's Temple and Lucifer's Crypt say anything about how to open the portals?"

The sorceress nodded. "Yes, I do believe they did. I'll just have to quickly look through them again to remember what I need to say."

"Good, you go ahead and do that," said Robin. He then looked directly at the rest of the titans and said, "And once Raven's done with that, it's time we all went on a little late night local tourism."

And there you have it people! The first chapter in this story to be published in God knows how long. Here's to once again hoping that this proves enjoyable enough to make the ungodly long wait worthwhile, and that you leave a healthy number of reviews ^_^. A-LionGleek is back in business with the Teen Titans fandom, and it's time to get things back off to a roaring start!

Coming up next: The titans head off to Dragon's Head Valley to make a late night visit to Lucifer's Crypt and get ahold of the Infernal Key. However, are they the only ones who have come to visit this depraved location, much less to claim possession of this very dangerous key of Dante? Find out next time, on Night of the Cursed.