A/N: This is a long one. I probably could have put the first bit at the end of last chapter, as it was a little short, but no matter. I will see you on the other side.

Valar morghulis.

TtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTt

Chapter 20: Crisis and Infinite Earths

Starfire flung starbolt after starbolt, heart racing as the horrific creatures launched themselves at her and her boyfriend.

On Tamaran, there was a bedtime story, that spoke of the Pale Men, the locusts of the pit. While she couldn't remember the details, she remembered being scared, as a small child barely able to talk. The Pale Men would come for those children that did not behave, with their white limbs and featureless faces, and long white tails. Needless to say, a significant part of her was horrified to be facing monsters that once lived only in her imagination.

They were winning too, the Pale Men, Robin had already been tired and injured when they started. Now, it was really only her that held them at bay, and their numbers grew exponentially. Soon, they would be overwhelmed, and she did not relish being dragged down to the Pit, as the old tale said.

Shrieks and cackling was suddenly silenced however, and all lidless eyes turned in one direction, as a howl sounded. It was an ear splitting, head cracking howl, one she had heard once before.

The faces of every Pale Man was looking past her, and as one they looked back to her, and while she could not be sure, she thought she saw fear on their blank faces.

The howl came again, this time degenerating into a growl, and behind her, through the doorway, burst The Beast.

Starfire gasped, not only for joy and surprise that her friend was alive, nor even shock at the sight of the Beast, but for the hate in his eyes.

It was a hate unlike any she'd ever seen, an all consuming, physical hatred for that which the monster saw. It's eyes were dark pits, white irises belying night vision, and it's face, while like Beast Boy's, was far more warped.

A great cat's snout framed deadly teeth, and pointed wolf ears stuck out from the top of his head. A dark green mane surrounded this, and marked the passage to a body designed for combat, sleek and lean, with a borderline shiny coat of fur.

He looked like some kind of super-werewolf, and Stafire smiled, for the first time since they arrived in this world; they could use a beast like this.

The Beast stood, ready to pounce, balanced easily on powerful reverse jointed legs. It seethed heavily, causing its hands to rise and fall, and their sharp, bared talons caught the light dangerously. For now, he seemed content to just observe, surprisingly quick mind calculating and evaluating.

Robin stared slack-jawed at the Beast, frozen in place for many reasons. Starfire slowly lowered herself to be standing next to him, and took his hand, waking him from his stupor.

That was apparently the thing that the Pale Men had been waiting for, and as they touched the creatures woke up, and started chattering, sliding towards them unnaturally.

That was of course what the Beast had been waiting for, for as soon as one of the Annunaki reached for them, he pounced. Seeing this coming, as soon as the Beast shifted his weight, Starfire lifted off, flying to the door, taking Robin with her.

Even with her superhuman reaction time, the Beast was still faster, and as she flew she felt his fur brush past her, a mighty green blur. She landed by the portal, and whipped her head around to catch the action.

The Beast was an artist when it came to violence, every movement a perfect symphony of death. His claws, teeth, and sheer muscle tore through the Pale Men as though they were little more than mannequins.

Still, the Beast was quickly surrounded, and even the greatest of predators can be overwhelmed. Starfire let go of Robin, and lifted off the ground; she would not let her friend, newly risen from death, to be killed and dragged into the abyss of the Pit. She would join him in his work, and vanquish every foe in their path.

The Beast was indeed overwhelmed, and as he ripped one filthy creature in half, three leapt on his back, sinking their icy teeth into his flesh. He howled and threw one off, but the other two were content to stay, and gnawed on his flesh.

He roared, and while it was not in any human tongue, its meaning was, "Filthy unborn, you cannot steal that which I posses,"

The Beast felt one of these suddenly leave his back, even as he got hold of the other. A quick squeeze and its head turned to pulp, and he looked back to see the alien there.

Glad to see a pack sister, the Beast growled in approval, interested in seeing just how tough his comrade was. He was not to be disappointed, for as he turned back to the monsters she was already at work, burning whole swaths of them.

So the two went to work, Beast and Warrior Princess, and hundreds of the monsters with many names fell to them, until at last there were none.

The Beast approached the alien, surrounded by the bodies of the unborn, who already were crumbling to ash. Starfire, for her part, was not scared; as she looked into this Beast's face, she did not see an animal, as some did. She saw a kindred spirit there, a mind that would do anything to survive, to protect those it loved, and she was fortunate enough to be one of those.

Starfire inclined her head as it approached, but it was a sign of respect, not submission, and the Beast returned the gesture, impressed. It looked into her face, and she looked back, and a wordless expression of respect passed between the two.

With that, the Beast had done all it had wanted to do, and it retreated into itself, body shrinking and morphing back into Beast Boy. Starfire caught him as his knees gave out, consciousness not yet returned, and held him up.

Robin approached, unnoticed until he was at her elbow, making her jump. He gave her a slightly tight smile, and patted the now waking Beast Boy's shoulder.

Green eyes, Beast Boy's this time, opened, and Robin was the first thing they saw, "Dude, what happened?"

"We thought we'd lost you," Robin said, and pulled him into a tight hug. Still foggy, Beast Boy was completely confused; Robin never hugged anyone. Heck, even Starfire was confused, and she hugged him on a regular basis.

She saw a bit of moisture on Robin's face, pooling at the bottoms of his mask, and she understood, at least in part. Starfire was not one to pass up a hug opportunity, especially in times like these, and quickly enfolded them both.

TtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTt

The control room was a mess, broken and loose circuits, wires, and other unnameable stuff was strewn about. Raven had another man's head in her lap now, this time it was the Doctor.

He had watched in fascinated awe, in shocked interest, as Beast Boy morphed into the Beast. Even though she'd expected him to come back eventually, she was still surprised.

After the Beast leaped away, no doubt to hand out a seriously deserved case of butt whooping, as Cyborg would say, the Doctor had simply fiddled his screwdriver, closing the patch, then collapsed.

Her magic had no apparent effect on him, and she huffed at that; it hadn't seemed to work at all on this crazy adventure. She was also a little confused, as while feeling his pulse she'd noticed a bizarre overlap in beats, which she had no idea how to explain.

Cyborg was at her side, the TARDIS having decided after the recent battle that he was a friend. At the moment, Cyborg was connected via wireless to the most intelligent computer in the whole universe; it was a little daunting to say the least.

A constant stream on information passed between them, and Cyborg felt a little violated at how eagerly the other sifted through what he offered. He was also a little nervous, as while the TARDIS was at present content with what he gave it, he knew nothing he could do would stop it if it decided to look further into his systems.

It told him that the fight was finished in the other room, and he noticed a slight accent in her 'voice'. It was nothing really corporeal, but it sounded like she had a soft English accent, and was in fact a she.

He asked her to open the door as his friends approached the control room. Cyborg had moved Raven back to the upper level, carrying the unconscious Doctor in his arms. While he knew a little about the man, Beast Boy was a far bigger fan, and all Cyborg could remember about the man was that he could change his face when he was dying, letting him live forever. As he looked down at Raven trying to heal the man, he hoped that would not happen; they had enough on their plates without a fresh Doctor.

Starfire came through the door first, floating along, a big smile on her face. Robin and Beast Boy followed, less cheerful, as they grudgingly ignored one another.

"Friends, we are victorious! The Pale Men are defeated!" She declared, before catching sight of the Doctor. "oh! What has happened?"

Raven looked up, "He opened the... engine to wake up Beast Boy,"

Beast Boy seemed to wake up, "The Heart! He opened the heart of the TARDIS?" surprised, Beast Boy jogged over to their side, kneeling next to Raven. "Last time that happened, he died... and he did it for me?"

Raven gave him a searching look while he watched the Doctor breath, noting tiny wisps of golden mist pass from his nose and mouth with each breath. "I can't say why he did it, but it worked. Can he... will he die?"

Beast Boy shrugged, and looked back to the other, "I don't know, the rules are a little strange when it comes to regeneration." He looked back to the Doctor, worry evident on his face, "depending on where we are, no, he shouldn't be dying... what did he say when he ran into you?"

"He was a little distracted, I think he was arguing with the ship," Raven explained, "He talked about wandering, and asked me if I was ever called Clara,"

"Clara?" Beast Boy repeated, and closed his eyes, thinking, "Of all the hundreds of years of his life we meet him now,"

Raven poked Beast Boy's shoulder, and he opened his eyes again, "What is it, what is wrong with now?"

"It's... complicated. Things are very complicated for him at the moment, and some very bad stuff is around the corner." Beast Boy sighed, and jumped when Robin cut in;

"I know how he feels."

The two turned and stood, facing the taller Titan, who stood sternly with his arms crossed. "We need to talk,"

Raven knew what it was about, she'd been thinking about it ever since Beast Boy woke up; Deadpool. Beast Boy was deliberately not thinking about his own problem, about the Beast. Not that it was the first time it had come back, in Paris he had used it in the final battle against the Brotherhood of Evil. He was in control then though, he was aware of everything he was doing. The last time he'd blacked out like this, and undead Slade was at their doorstep, with an army of angry demons. Robin hadn't complained back then.

They wouldn't get their talk however, as just as Robin opened his mouth to lecture, the ship jerked, and Cyborg grunted as alarms went off in his head. "Cyborg, what is it?"

Stafire's hands lit up, and she lowered to the ground, eyes scanning the room, "The Pale Men,"

"I don't know! She's got more breeches, there must be more of them trying to tear through,"

Robin put a fist in his hand, "No, we can't fight off another wave," he looked hopefully over to the Doctor, but Raven shook her head, "Damn, Cyborg, are you connected?"

The large teen nodded while helping the ship reroute dimensional barriers. It was beyond anything even he had ever thought technology could do. "Yeah, but I'm a little busy at the moment,"

"Take us out of here then!" Robin pressed a button on his belt, activating the magnets in his soles, so as not to be thrown by the bucking ship.

Beast Boy grabbed Raven in a bear hug and brought her to the nearest railing, much to her chagrin, while she wrapped the Doctor in a cocoon of black energy. Starfire's eyes were ablaze, and her teeth gritted together; she was dangerous, on a level the other Titan's just didn't understand, and now she was angry and afraid.

Cyborg gave this all a passing glance, and called to the TARDIS, asking her to take them anywhere but here. There was silence, then with a distant grinding of machinery, the ship stopped shaking and settled into a steady barely noticeable vibration as the telltale whirring sounded from the bowels of the ship.

A last shake and the ship was apparently free of the creatures, that is until a sudden bang and jerk, throwing all of the Titans to the floor.

Alarms sounded in the ship this time, and the TARDIS began to panic in Cyborg's head; nothing had ever managed to catch it in mid flight!

"Cyborg! What's the situation?" Robin had moved to the control pillar, and stood at a display screen, trying to work the image to show anything useful.

"Hold on!" Cyborg's feet were also magnetized, and he ran to Robin's side, talking all the while with the TARDIS. He flipped and turned and pressed seemingly at random, and the shaking lessened.

Beast Boy found himself shoved off of his fellow passenger, "You can let go now," Raven gave him a mock glare, which he returned with a wide grin. "Hey, I just rose from the dead, can't I get a hug or something?"

Raven responded by patting his head, to which he only smiled wider.

"No, no," Cyborg was straining, sweat beading on his exposed face. Robin tried to help him, but mostly just dodged out of his way, as the metallic man worked away. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

All of a sudden the TARDIS jarred to a halt, as if it hit something, not like the rattling that accompanied the monsters' tearing hands. Cyborg snapped his fingers, face cracking into a grin, "There,"

The computer in his voice argued, but he persuaded it, and the TARDIS turned toward the metaphysical wall it had struck. With some complex science stuff it found a hole in the barrier, and pushed through.

Now, dimensional physics is a hardly stable or predictable science. While sometimes things follow certain rules, they also often do not, and some bizarre things happen when displaced elements meet. So it was as the TARDIS, fleeing the Annunaki, pressed up against the tiny tear in the barrier of its present reality, it slipped through, but like a bar of soap from clenching fist, or pimple from pressing fingers.

Leaving its pursuers far behind, the ship took off at ludicrous speeds, hurtling through not only time and space, but dimension after dimension. It even briefly touched the forbidden realm, seen by folk there as mysterious lights in the sky (A/N ever wondered what UFO's are?). Still it kept going, until finally it struck another wall.

This wall, barrier, was one none had ever breached, and what lay beyond is unknown to anyone, even the author. Cyborg looked with camera eye upon the approximation of the wall, looking to his eye like a wall of flowing water.

When they struck this wall all of the Titans were thrown again, the magnets failing for Robin and Cyborg. Starfire alone remained untouched, hovering over them all. She looked around, confused at the sudden silence, and she lowered to the ground, taking Robin's hand. With a slight pull he returned to his feet, muttering a quick thanks before turning to Cyborg, "What happened?"

Cy stood, creaking even as the ship, both had taken quite a strain. "I... I don't know. We're safe, far from those things, but what we hit..."

Beast Boy stood up, following Raven, who had already risen gracefully. "You don't know?"

Cyborg shrugged, "We hit something a while back that shot us out like a bullet, we skipped around for a bit. The scanners say it's some kind of wall,"

"Let's look!"

Raven gave Beast Boy a slightly annoyed look, "We're in space, we can't open the doors," she turned to Cyborg, "We are still in space right?"

Cyborg nodded and Beast Boy replied, "Actually, there is some kind of force field thingy in the TARDIS, we can open the doors, even leave for a bit, and we'll be fine."

Starfire looked between her friends, wondering at their fragility. She had gone on her first space walk at six, and she hadn't anything on but her pajamas; then again, Tamaranians were a uniquely hardy people.

"Fine, then let's see," Robin approached the doors, and Raven knelt down to the Doctor's side. He was undamaged, as far as she could tell; his breathing was still shallow, and his eyes lazily shifted under their lids.

Robin reached the door, and placed a hand on the handle. With a deep breath he turned it, and pulled.

There was no rush of air, no blast of decompression, no popping of ears, just a light breeze.

The view was spectacular in its simplicity. Above and before the ship stretch a wall, as far as the eye could see, an unbroken sky. It shimmered and seemed to breathe, but most interesting was the surface beneath the glow; it was an ocean, an endless pool of water, ever moving but never changing, and it stretched out evenly and without fail.

Below and behind was blackness, the pure black of space. As the TARDIS spun slightly in the breeze, they caught sight of their entrance, an ugly scar in the perfect black. But as they looked they noticed that it was not all black, there were more tears, tiny pinprick scars all over the blackness, but the wall of water was untouched, solid.

The Titans all crowded about the opening, and Starfire was the first to step through. She lifted off the ground, taking Robin's hand in hers, and drifted out of the portal. Raven stepped through next, followed by Beast Boy, who hoped the former would grab him if they needed to get inside quickly. Cyborg simply leaned out, and looked in awe at the vast expanse, questions lost in the wonder of it.

Cyborg whistled, impressed at the sight, and Raven looked over the white/blue wall, a quote coming to mind, "I see whiteness. All along the horizon from north to south, as far as my eyes can reach,"

Beast Boy gave her an inquisitive look, and she continued, "C.S. Lewis... We've come to the world's end,"

He smiled, recalling not the book but the film, where Caspian, Reepicheep, and the others looked upon Aslan's Country. It was certainly a fitting scene to this.

Looking away from the water sky, he noticed a change in the darkness. It was directly below them, and he exclaimed when he saw it. It seemed like a hole, but not a tear like the others, it had no edge, only blackened and deepened, like he was looking down a very long tunnel.

He starred at the blackness, the utter void of light, and found himself increasingly absorbed in the sight. It clawed for his attention in its nothingness, and as he looked it seemed to look back. His stomach dropped and his throat closed, his breath caught in it.

Raven noticed when Beast Boy stopped breathing. She turned to him, only to find his eyes fixed and unmoving. Turning she saw the void, and saw the black core in the featureless space.

It took her in too, drawing her unmoving stare, only she saw what Beast Boy could not. Whether the result of her heritage, her learning, or a combination, she saw the void for what it truly was, and the saw the whole of it.

This was the Pit, the Void, the Abyss. As she stared she saw the dormant forms of Annunaki, silent, unmoving, and invisible to other eyes. They floated in nothingness, hidden in the darkness. This was their home, their prison, and like fools they had come to them in their sleep.

She caught her own breath, scared to move, let alone talk. Out there, unseen, were billions upon billions of those who were not meant to be, the unliving who craved life, and here, in their preverbal bedroom, floated five juicy lumps of life.

Raven looked away with some effort, and found Beast Boy still starring, vacant. She elbowed him, but he didn't move, so she grabbed his shoulders and turned him to her. His eyes were distant, but she shook him, and they focused on her, and once he noticed her proximity he blushed, and pulled away.

The others had yet to see the floating beings, and she was determined to keep it that way. It seemed to her that the creatures preferred to sleep in the pitch, far from the light flowing 'ceiling'. In that case, she figured their best bet would be to get close to that ceiling.

Silently she reached out with her soul and engulfed the TARDIS, along with her friends. Confused, Robin turned to her, question on his lips, but Raven put a finger to her lips. She guided them up, and turned them, so they were instead headed down, the water at their feet. They touched down gently, passing through the misty shimmering cloud layer and coming to rest just on the surface of the water.

It was surprisingly calm, and as she let go of the ship the TARDIS settled onto the water's surface, floating, somehow stable. Cyborg knelt and reached a hand to the clear dark blue, and found it to be warm, like bath water. Remembering Raven's words, he brought a cupped handful of water to his mouth; just like in the story, the water was sweet and clear, with no trace of salt.

Beast Boy struggled unconsciously against Raven's grip, so she let him go, slipping her hand into his for balance. It was an unconscious gesture, one she would later be very confused at, but in the moment it felt right, and Beast Boy didn't complain. She summoned a black panel of energy for them to stand on.

Down here at the surface of the 'ceiling', they found that the water was not unbroken. While it did stretch out in an endless sea, they did notice dark forms on the horizon, pillars rising from the calm water. As they're eyes adjusted, they made out light coming from their tops, like lighthouses.

In fact, they were light houses; as they floated along they approached one, and made out its features. The lighthouse stood tall, dark blue and white, in the center of a small islet. The rocks were black and slick, and from them was built a wooden walkway, with supports extending into the water about twenty feet.

As they approached the TARDIS swayed and struck rock, coming to land on the stony surface. Gingerly the Titans too settled onto the stone base, the warm sweet water splashing at their heels. Other than the soft lapping of water, there was utter silence.

Beast Boy took a deep breath and let it out, loudly. The blackness was mostly gone from the 'sky', a white mist having covered up most of the expanse, and Starfire ventured closer to the lighthouse.

"Is this truly the end of the world?" she asked, confused, not helped by the shrugs she received.

"It is peaceful though," Cyborg chimed in, breathing deeply of the clean, refreshing air. The physics were baffling, but somehow there was atmosphere on this endless flat expanse. It had a very high oxygen content as well, falling just within the upper limit of human tolerance.

Beast Boy started to laugh, and playfully pushed at Raven. The stoic girl merely gave him another half-hearted glare, and the green boy morphed into a dog, racing randomly on the small beach. Starfire, concerns lost for the moment, laughed, and joined him, and the two raced around the island.

Robin on the other hand was all business, and he climbed the steep but short stony beach to the lighthouse itself.

It was maybe thirty feet wide, and was indeed metal, some kind of old naval iron, judging by the giant rivets holding it together. A wood plank walkway circled its base, and extended into a short pier.

Robin made his way around the building to this pier, and found a pair of very tall doors, perhaps three times his height. They were bronze, or some other golden metal, and rusted white/green in places. The doors themselves were simply adorned, featuring a kind of cityscape. They mirrored one another, a squarish skyscraper in the center of each. In the center of the two doors were two statues of men, standing back to back, arms raised, holding a featureless globe on their backs.

He didn't recognize them, but as he stepped forward and pressed a gloved hand against their surface, Cyborg interrupted him, in awe, "Constants... and variables?"

Raven looked between the two, as Cyborg stepped forward, running his hand over the metal. He turned back to the sea, to the thousands of other lighthouses, and returned to theirs. "No way," he continued.

Beast Boy had at some point heard them, and still smiling he and Star approached the others. Giving the door a once over, his own face took on Cyborg's shocked expression, and he turned around to look over the sea as well.

"Bioshock Infinite?" he asked rhetorically, and Cyborg pulled his hand away.

"It was kind of a given, I mean we've been skipping around realities for a while now," Cyborg said, and ruffled Beast Boy's hair, smiling, "Not that you really understood it,"

"Hey," Beast Boy pouted, and with a careless shake of his head fixed his own hair.

"So... what is it?" Raven asked, and the green boy turned to her, a big grin on his face, "It's one of the coolest games ever,"

To her skeptical look Cyborg cut in, "its science fiction, basically these doors... they're everywhere, to everywhere, all we have to do is go through."

Raven still wasn't getting it, and Beast Boy nodded at her confusion.

"Watch," Cyborg continued, slightly frustrated. He stepped back up to the door and pressed his hands against them... and they didn't open, didn't even budge.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Robin asked, and Stafire joined Cyborg, pushing, but their combined strength did nothing more.

Beast Boy snapped his fingers, "Oh, the key!"

Cyborg turned to him, nodding, "Yeah, the key, but we don't have the key, and I don't see Elizabeth anywhere near here now do you?"

"I have a key,"

It was Raven who spoke, and when they turned to her surprised they found that she was also surprised. In her hands was indeed a key, having appeared seemingly from nowhere, and she held it as if it were precious.

"Will you use it?" Starfire inquired, and Raven nodded. The others parted to let her through, and Raven stepped forward to the giant doors, and ran her hand over the engraved surface, finding a recessed circle. She wiped away some rusted and touch the key to the hole, finding that it slid in with ease. With a steadying breath she rotated the key, and with a resonate clink the latch was unlocked.

She left the key in the lock, and turned to the others, who watched on eagerly. She turned her gaze back to the gold doors and brought her slender, pale hands up to their expanse.

Beast Boy felt his breath catch and his heart skip as he watched Raven move. She looked the part of Elizabeth Comstock, slender, pale, beautiful; he never connected it before, but he was beginning to notice a trend in his crushes, the deep, meaningful ones. There were girls he liked, ones he thought were hot or cute, but the ones that moved him... they were all Raven.

A creak and churning of gears and the doors opened, and Raven found herself looking on another pier. Confused, she turned back around; the scene was the same. Stepping through cautiously she found she was indeed, for all intents and purposes, stepping out onto the same pier as she was stepping off of.

On the other side she looked back, and saw the doorway in reverse, along the outside of the lighthouse on this side, but opening like a mirror to the other. A vein pulsed in her forehead, and she felt that hated headache returning.

The others followed her, and each reacted in their own way to the jarring physics nightmare. Robin was the calmest, and noticed the seascape first, "they're closer than before,"

Indeed, one this side the lighthouses had moved closer, and changed slightly, now made of concrete and far more numerous. Also the mist had settled over here, and the darkness could be seen beyond, tears in reality looking like stars.

Directly above them was the abyss, a black hole with no 'stars', and Beast Boy was careful not to look into it.

They took all of this, and Cyborg was the first to move, stepping out onto the pier. "Where are you going?" Starfire asked, and the man turned back to her, "You'll see; there's a million million worlds through these lighthouses Star, we can get home,"

"Or continue wandering forever," Robin interjected, and Beast Boy frowned at him, "C'mon Rob, have a little faith. There is always a lighthouse, always a team, always a way home; like destiny,"

"How do you know?" Raven asked, and felt a chill pass through her. Even after all this time, the mention of destiny still bothered her.

"It's in the game, constants and variables. Everything happens for a reason, everything works out," the green boy tried to explain, and Raven looked to Cyborg for clarification. The man just shrugged.

So they started walking, and as they reached the end of the pier more of it raised from the sea. A path was made even as they stepped up to its end, and soon they reached a crossroads, the pier branching left and right, to two different lighthouses.

Raven took the lead, and turned right, and the path lead them up to another lighthouse, identical to the last. She placed her palms flat against the doors and pushed, and the doors opened again with ease.

As before there were slightly different light houses, and a stone pier this time. Now, in the distance and on certain piers, they saw figures.

"Is that us?" Starfire asked, concerned, as across the water another Starfire rose from the pier and pointed their way.

Cyborg nodded, "Yes, and no. What I got from it was multiple universes, all crossing each other,"

"So, in this video game there were others of us?" she asked innocently, and Cyborg nodded, not wanting to confuse her further by trying to explain that it was actually someone else, and he was actually the bad guy and it was all a big time loop...

He really hoped this adventure wasn't a time loop.

They reached another light house, Raven still in the lead. She pressed her hands against the doors, these ones were wood, and pushed, only to find an empty sea beyond. There was no pier, no lighthouses on the water, no mist in the sky. It was silent, dark, and the sky had no stars, no tears.

They stood together, on the brick base of this lighthouse, and looked out over the endless, unbroken sea. Beast Boy kicked a loosed pebble, and it took off, sailing over to plunking into the water farther than he'd intended. Apparently gravity was less here as well.

The void filled the whole sky now that there was no mist or 'stars' to obscure it, and it yawned at them like a cold, toothless maw. In fact, the only light seemed to be from the lighthouse, and a slight glow from the water itself. All was deafeningly still and quite.

Then, there was a flash, and Raven looked up. There, in the sky, a tear, a large one; through it came a structure, some kind of ship, and it came to rest above the lighthouse, lowering towards them.

As it approached, Raven could make out the design. She couldn't be sure, but there was something strangely familiar about it, like she'd seen it our something similar to it sometime in her past.

The ship structure did not head straight to the lighthouse, it actually descended in front of the doors, a good forty feet or so away. It was large, but being cylindrical most of its structure penetrated the water and sank below the surface, leaving only a circular dais above the still water.

Raven knew the design now, recognized the chairs on the dais, the smooth white metal, the orange insignia on the floor, the control panel in its center; this was an Azarathian ship!

She must have gasped, because her friends turned to her suddenly, supporting her, and asking what was wrong. "It's, it is Azarathian,"

Starfire looked back at the structure with surprise; Raven had told her much about her past, even more than the others, and if this was indeed Azarathian there could be trouble. While not a violent people, she knew from Raven that they were prideful and powerful, combined with their altruism resulted in a dangerous concoction of misguided heroism.

"Azarathian? It's from your home?" Beast Boy asked, and Raven gave him a suddenly cold look, causing him to blanche. "Azarath is not my home,"

A sound from the ship brought their attention back to the ship, and from some unseen panel ascended Azarathian monks. There were six in all, women, faces in deep shadow under their white hoods. Like marble statues their heavy white robes hung from them unmoving even as they walked and arranged themselves before their chairs. Orange sashes hung from their left shoulders over to their right hips, and was as still and resolute as the rest of them.

Once they were all in a circle around the dais, a seventh monk ascended. She was taller than the others, and wore two sashes crossing her chest. She circled the others and stopped before her own chair, a throne of sorts, taller and more ornate than the others. Without a word or sign they all sat as one, and remove their hoods.

Now Raven did gasp, and felt Beast Boy's arms catch her (he was always doing that, she noted), for the leader, the monk in the throne, was Azar herself.

Not wanting to talk to loudly for fear of being noticed, Raven explained, "That is Azar, the founder of Azarath. She was my mentor, she was the one who taught me how to control," Her fists clenched as she remembered, and she felt unbridled hate swell at the sight of the woman.

"Was she... evil? " Robin asked, seeing Raven's reaction to her presence. He was concerned, the Deadpool fight forgotten, and was genuinely curious. Raven's past was something she grudgingly guarded, and even though it clearly was bothering her, the detective in him was eager to finally get some answers.

"No, but she wasn't perfect," Raven fought not to clench her teeth, "She was an arrogant and self-righteous leader, one who was a slave to her own precious prophecies." She noticed something, and added softly, "But she is younger, younger than when I knew her..."

Indeed, the woman across the water had no trace of the white that would one day dominate her hair, nor did her face bear the lines of her millennia of life.

"So what is she doing here?" Cyborg asked, and Raven shrugged. Unless, no, it couldn't be, not after all her lectures, her rules, she couldn't have been the one...

They all fell silent as Azar spoke, her voice ringing strong and clear in the silence."Colleagues... we are gathered here with dread purpose, yet it is one that shall shape the universe to come. Together we shall gather from the ether all evil, malice, hatred, and every dark thing, and contain it, here, at the very heart of the universe."

The woman closed her eyes then, and placed her hands on the panel before them all. The others followed suit, and from the panel rose a seven pointed star made of some kind of crystal. It glowed orange as they began to chant, and their voices moaned on in perfect alien unison, reciting a long lost and regretted spell.

Raven watched on in horror and the crystal vibrated and hummed, and through her empathy she felt the essence of reality shift. It was always there, the underlying emotions of the universe, vague intangible concepts that nonetheless existed in perfect, unmoving balance.

Now however, they were moving, shifting and breaking away from one another, and it hurt, the universe was hurting, and screaming, and she heard it.

There was no scream, no gasp of air, Raven just collapsed, overwhelmed by the enormity of the sheer pain she felt as the abstract forces of reality were torn out of place and drawn here, to this well intentioned but disastrous machine.

Beast Boy held on to her as she began to shake, tears welling in his eyes as her face contorted in nameless horror. The others looked on, Starfire alone rising to the air, starbolts primed, ready to stop the ritual.

Robin grabbed her foot as she took off, and she turned back to him, angry. He shook his head however, "We can't, Star, this has already happened, we can't interfere,"

She shook her boot from his grip, and grimaced, turning back to the machine, seething.

Raven finally let out a scream, a bloodcurdling scream from deep in her body, the kind that tore at the voice in its rush to be released. Beast Boy let out a sob of his own, helpless to help her as she shivered and spasmed.

"She did it, she made him," Raven whispered in the wake of her scream, and a loud noise sounded from the ship. All of the Titans snapped their attention to the structure, where seven monks presided, too absorbed to realize the danger.

The crystal star was breaking, cracking from the base upward. It was glowing in patches now, and as the cracks deepened a squeal like heated ice sounded a constant, rising tone, and then in an instant the star shattered.

White hot shards of crystal shot in every direction, tearing right through the presiding monks, killing a few instantly, but mortally wounding the rest. Azar alone survived, nothing vital hit, and she desperately kept chanting, even as the spell faded and the abstracts of the universe returned to their places.

It was not over though, and the ship began to shake, and Azar was thrown into the water. The structure itself began to glow white hot, steam billowing from around it, and it rose slowly from the water.

Once it hovered above their heads, the shriek of straining metal filling their ears, Raven grabbed Beast Boy, nails biting through his costume into his skin beneath. She looked wildly into his eyes, her own splitting, so he had no idea which to look into. "He is here," she hissed.

Above them the ship finally exploded, but instead of the metal shards flying about dangerously they disintegrated into ash, and in its wake was a horrific form they all knew too well.

Trigon, newly born, hovered in space, in the fetal position, flesh angry red against the black and blues of the night. His mane of white hair flowed out behind his massive skull, and his four eyes were closed, as he had yet to wake.

Raven's heart stopped, and she felt a presence within her. Something was prompting her, and she obeyed, rising from Beast Boy's shocked arms. Azar, treading water in horror, looked up to see the strange girl floating above her. It was an image she would never forget, the sleeping form of Trigon newly born, and the grey girl with the violet hair and demon's eyes.

Raven rose between the two, Azar and Trigon, and spoke, her four eyes flashing in the night as from her flesh lights began to sparkle, forming lines of Azarathian script, repeating the same thing over and over.

She spoke what the words spelled, in an other worldly, inhuman voice, "The destroyer comes, born of evil's fire, his hunger insatiable. He comes to claim, he comes to sire. The end of all things mortal."

With the prophecy declared, she fell, back to the arms of her friends. She was alright, but Azar did not have eyes for the prophet. She watched as the Demon, born of her own hands, woke, and she knew what evil he would commit. Even as his four eyes opened flame spewed from his mouth, and the whole of the dark void was filled with fire.

The destroyer had come, to claim, to sire; the end of all things mortal.

TtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTt

A/N: what! yes, ladies and gentlemen, I created a time loop, of sorts. This was an idea I've had for a while, I'm not entirely sure how of its quality, I personally like it, hence its presence here. One thing I found lacking in the show was backstory, and lore, it only ever gave enough to understand what was going on. While that was perfect for a kids show, in fact its one of the reasons I consider Teen Titans one of the greatest cartoons of all time, I always felt hungry for more. Now, from what I understand, there have been two comic origins for Trigon, this is clearly neither. Basically, I want to flesh out who Trigon is and who Azar is and how they relate to one another and to Raven. I also love me some time travel. Oh, and I realize that this is not the prophecy in the show, because this is the prophecy about Trigon. The prophecy about Raven is given at her birth; this one is a precursor, setting the seeds in Azar's mind for later. In the spirit of writing I will be able to get in a lot of world building and backstory, so future stories will cover this and other characters/topics as well. I even started one a while back about Brother Blood and Slade, I just haven't updated in forever. Someday.

A special thanks to one Thegreatcrab9927 for suggesting Bioshock Infinite, a long time ago. Sorry it took so long, but I do want to that you for the suggestion. I've since played through the first two games and watched a play through of Infinite, they are definitely among my favorite games list.

So, what did you think? are you liking my story so far? hate it? hate me? Let me know, you can always click that sexy review button and let me know. Every bit of feedback helps, even if its just a visit to add to my traffic stats, its all good. Peace be with you, until next week.