Chapter 23: Azarath Aftermath Zinthos
It was quiet now; all the Titans had left, the Doctors taking them home and returning to their own worlds and timelines.
Raven hovered over the well in the center of the clearing, staring down into the water, thinking. The Titans, her Titans, were off, looking up into the stars. Cyborg was chatting with the Doctor, Robin and Starfire were holding hands, and Beast Boy sat with his back to the well.
She was about to move when she heard a sniff from Beast Boy. Looking his way, she noticed his head was bowed. He was sitting cross legged on the rim of the well, looking down into it.
Settling to the ground, she walked to his side, and stood next to him, waiting.
Soon the young man noticed her and looked up. She could see the two faint salt lines by his eyes, from no more than a tear or two. His green eyes looked into hers weakly, and she noticed that he wasn't smiling. In fact, he wasn't frowning, pouting, or anything; his face was blank, expressionless, with no spark of the vibrant life within.
Somehow, that made her sad.
"He's gone." It wasn't a question, just a statement, and the young man didn't move when he said it.
Raven nodded, and sat down beside him, facing outward, so she could look into his face.
"Did he do it on purpose? Dying?" he asked, still looking down into the water.
"Yes. Whether there was another way, I don't know. He wanted to be a hero Beast Boy, and heroes make the ultimate sacrifice."
"Do you mean he wanted to die?"
"I don't know... he was a strange man. A good man in the end, but strange."
Beast Boy snickered, dipping to place a finger in the water, "Aren't we all..." He was silent as he watched the ripples spread and bounce back.
"Garfield?"
Beast Boy's head snapped to attention and he gave her a suspicious look, but his attention was on her at least.
"I'm sorry," she finished, and his shoulders sagged.
Suddenly Beast Boy reached out, pulling her into a hug; a little awkward due to their positioning. To his surprise, she placed her arms around him, hands on his shoulders, and gave him a pat.
They stayed like that for a very long moment, before Beast Boy pulled away, surprising Raven.
"So... who were those dudes, the four floaty people?"
Raven shook her head slowly, "I don't know... if I would hazard a guess, I'd say they were Watchers. Good ones, anyway; it looked like they divided Trigon into all of the different dimensions. That must be how I defeated him last year, since he was just a fragment."
"Well it wasn't easy... Watchers?" Beast Boy scratched his head, "They looked kinda familiar. I think two of them were the Luteces, from Bioshock. Convenient anyway,"
Beast Boy stopped, focussing on something over her shoulder, "Azar," he said.
Turning, Raven saw her, white robe burnt and soaked as she walked slowly into the clearing. Her black hair was singed and tangled, and her face was blank, the kind of look one has when they've forgotten something important, but cannot remember even a bit of why it mattered.
Raven turned back to Beast Boy, who shrugged, "What ever happened between you two anyways?"
"She killed everyone I cared about," Raven replied, and Beast Boy looked shocked, waiting for an explanation.
None came, as she stood and took a deep, calming breath, clenching her fists.
Lifting up from the ground, she flew over to the woman, who seemed to not even notice her. Raven landed a good few feet from Azar, and the other just stared blankly into the clearing.
"Who are you?" she asked after a moment, her bright eyes coming to rest on Raven. In millennia, Raven will have looked on those eyes and remarked how incredibly blue they were, how intense and unmoving. Now, they seemed sad, lost.
"My name is Raven," her voice cracked, subtly, too subtle for human ears to pick up. Azar heard.
The woman's face turned fully on Raven, and softened, ever so slightly, as her eyes travelled her form. "You are a remarkable woman, Raven."
Raven steeled herself, clenching her teeth together. "I am what I need to be,"
Azar frowned slightly, confused at her hostility.
"What were you thinking?" Raven asked, and there was a long silence that followed.
Azar looked into Raven's face for a while, then across the labyrinth, then up to the dark void above.
"Suffering... I saw suffering," she answered, and stepped away from Raven. "I saw my brother fall from grace, saw the whole of creation wilt, and I saw suffering."
She closed her eyes, and a single tear slipped from them, falling crystalline down her cheek to fall to the brick below.
"I couldn't stand by, couldn't watch the whole suffer, so I came here with my sisters, my friends..." her eyes opened, and fists clenched.
"I thought we could end it before it began, to give the universe a chance," her fists fell, "but now they're gone, and evil still reigns... with a new champion,"
Azar brought her hand to her mouth, and whispered, "Child of mine,"
Raven watched all of this, determined to be angry, ready to blame her, to hate her, to justify the bitterness of the past years. All she saw however could only raise pity, and she spoke, "It was... a good dream,"
The other turned to her, surprised, and nodded. "A dream, yes; one I threw away everything for."
Another silence passed, and Raven felt a question nagging, "Who is your brother?" she asked at long last.
"The morning star, the first born," a sad smile filled Azar's face, as memories played themselves out, "The most beautiful of my siblings."
Raven gave the woman a shocked look, but then again, she always kind of figured. It was the only explanation that made sense. "You're... an angel?"
Azar gave Raven a strange look, but nodded, "I am a child of light, but no longer. I abandoned my post; to watch was my duty and I interfered, and now everything is lost." The woman looked back up into the void, and flinched as though she'd seen something there.
Mind reeling, Raven spoke quickly, "Not everything is lost," she approached Azar, and looked into her face, "you keep fighting. For thousands of years you fight, saving and sheltering millions. Showing them the way, teaching them; you raised me..."
Azar watched her, expressionless, until she stopped. Her eyes sparked, and a ghost of a smile touched her lips.
Raven nodded to her, "That was what Control Freak meant, by prophecy,"
She almost reached out a grabbed Azar's hand, but restrained herself, "I was born thousands of years from now, and you were there. You saved my mother after..." Raven bit her tongue, and a tear came out of her eye.
"Trigon, he raped her."
Azar frowned, but raised a hand, and took Raven's in it. Raven's tears flowed fully now, and she stared hard at the ground, trying to stem the flow. Azar pulled her into a hug.
Raven didn't process it, not as an adult. She was a little girl again, desperate for a mother's embrace, for the approval of her teacher. She hugged the other and buried her face in her shoulder, and let out a sob, albeit a quiet one.
The hug wasn't very long; soon Azar had pulled away, hand still on her arm. Raven cleared her throat, and continued, "You spoke something over me, a prophecy. 'The Gem was born of evil's fire, the Gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim, he comes to sire, the end of all things mortal.'"
Raven took a deep breath, "I used to think it was a curse, a doom I couldn't avoid," she smiled slightly, "But I knew what was coming. I prepared, not that it was enough. Somehow, I found friends, love... I was able to stand up, to face him. I banished him to the pit, forever, and it was you... you who put me on that path."
"Then, perhaps, it was worth it," Azar said, and smiled.
Raven felt a lifetime of resentment slide away, and she smiled back.
The woman nodded, and pulled away, "Now, I should probably go then. Lots of... saving to do,"
Raven followed as Azar walked towards the well, and the found the Titans already gathered there. They were silent as the pair approached, and Azar stopped at the edge of the well.
Beast Boy looked up at the tall woman, and frowned, looking back at Raven and noticing the tear stains on her cheeks. Azar looked briefly between the two and smiled to herself; mortals. She noticed something however, and looked more closely at the young green man.
His soul, she could see it, and it was red, shimmering with limitless energy. Gently, she reached out in spirit and touched it, only to have the aura sharpen into a wolf's head and snap at her.
Beast Boy shivered, a sudden chill touching his spine.
"I shall be going now." She said, and the Titans looked amongst themselves, confused.
The Doctor was the one to voice the question on all of their minds, "where are you going?"
Azar gave the man a long look, sensing a great age in him. "I don't know," with that she stepped up to the well's rim, and looked down. In the water she saw four faces, and a tune lilted up from below.
Only Beast Boy heard the song, and it chilled him, as a lost voice cried, "All along the watchtower, Princes kept the view..."
Azar gave the Beast Boy one last look, and stepped up onto the brim. Turning to Raven, she smiled, "See you soon," she said quietly, then stepped backward and into the water.
She sank in an instant, leaving a circle of Titans and the Doctor looking down after her.
"Well... that was one weird day," Cyborg said, breaking the silence.
The Doctor smiled, "Surprisingly, not my weirdest."
TtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTt
"So she was an angel?" Robin asked again, and Starfire waited for someone to explain what an angel was.
"But... she didn't have any wings," Beast Boy countered, scratching his head.
Raven rolled her eyes and explained again, "Not all angels have wings Beast Boy,"
Across the cluttered room Cyborg was only half listening, his hands on the controls. The Doctor stood at his side, also with his hands on the dials.
"She likes you," he said, and Cyborg felt a blush touch his cheeks, as the TARDIS continued its stream of data with his processor, getting a fix on their home dimension.
"She's a remarkable ship," he replied, and the Doctor nodded, "She can be a bit lippy though,"
With a slight lurch, the TARDIS started moving, and the distant sound of whirring started.
"I can't believe we're actually going home, it feels like we've been out here for years," Robin remarked, and Beast Boy nodded his agreement, "We did miss a lot though. I mean, Assassin's Creed, Metal Gear, Splinter Cell, Final Fantasy..."
The green boy's pout made Starfire chuckle, "You still have the video games friend Beast Boy; they are not lost."
Beast Boy shook his head, "It's not the same Star, I've been immersed... don't know if I can go back."
Raven smirked, "You can always try reading,"
"Blah... or, you could play with me, Cortana." He winked, and she smacked the side of his head.
Cyborg called out from the console, "We could always try fishing again,"
"Yeah, I don't think I'm ever going fishing again," Raven replied, and Beast Boy chuckled, "Yeah, this trip kind of puts the rest to shame."
There was a slight lurch in the ship, and the whirring came to a stop. Cyborg let go of the panel and rubbed his hands together, "Home sweet home,"
The Titans rose and headed for the door, the Doctor in tow.
Robin turned to the Doctor and shook his hand, the man smiling in reply. "Thank you Doctor, for everything."
"It was a pleasure Robin,"
Starfire was next, and she pulled the Doctor into a bone crushing hug, though he handled it fairly well, gasping "You too Starfire,"
"Do not be the stranger the Doctor," she said, and stepped through the TARDIS doors, Robin following.
"Dude, it was so cool to meet you," Beast Boy said, reaching out his hand to shake. The Doctor took it and shook heartily, "You were cool as well Beast Boy."
"Not as cool as that bow tie," he replied with a wink, and stepped out of the TARDIS.
The Doctor smiled and fingered his tie, "They are cool aren't they?"
"Hey man, they work on you." Cyborg shook the Doctor's hand, "Thanks for everything, this," he made a sweeping motion with his hand, "was amazing."
"Thank you Cyborg, I don't think we would have gotten out of there without you." Cyborg nodded with a smile, and patted Raven on the back before stepping out.
"I'm surprised he didn't try to give you a communicator," Raven commented, and the Doctor smiled at her, "What?"
"Robin, he makes practically everybody we meet an 'honourary Titan'."
"Ah," the Doctor replied, and they stood there for a moment in silence. "So, the green one, he's cute."
Raven frowned at him, which only made the Doctor laugh.
"Well, I'd better get back to it, and you've got that hero stuff,"
"Thank you Doctor," Raven interjected, and extended a hand. The Doctor took it and squeezed, placing his other hand over top. "Anytime Raven,"
He let go and headed towards the control panel. Raven made her way to the doors, but stopped when he spoke again, "Anytime of course, could be now..."
She turned back and saw him leaning against the rail above her, lights blinking behind him. "I mean, you're welcome, anyways," he continued, looking suddenly bashful.
"Travel with you?" she clarified, and he shrugged, "Anywhere in time and space, and you'd be back by supper; time machine and all that."
Raven stepped towards the stairs, but stopped herself, looking back towards the doors.
"What about Clara?" she asked, and the Doctor nodded, "Well, we can always find her together. I think you'd get along, she's very smart and snarky, like you."
Raven smiled, considering. "I'd like that,"
The Doctor smiled, standing up, "Really?"
She gave him a long look, "I can't though." She looked back to the doors, "As much as I'd love to travel with you, I have responsibilities..."
Raven felt a hand touch her shoulder and she jumped, not having realized the Doctor had come down beside her. "Let him know, won't you?"
She didn't bother pretending not to know what he was talking about, "I'll try," She turned back to the man, and found a sad smile on his face. She wondered how many people the man had said goodbye to, and how much it must hurt.
Surprising both of them, she stepped forward and grabbed him in a hug. The Doctor didn't know what to do, so he just hugged her back, and remembered all those who had gone before.
Raven pulled away, and brushed her hair behind her ears. "See you later..." she headed out, but paused at the doors, and turned back on final time, remembering something from the show she'd mocked Beast Boy for watching, "Raggedy man," She added, and stepped through.
The Doctor smiled, and a tear welled in his eye. Once the doors shut, he rubbed it out, wondering whether there was something in the air for all this crying.
He turned back to the TARDIS control panels and placed a hand on the cool metal. "Well, sexy, where to now?"
A few switches and dials later, and the coil in center of the array started pumping, the distant whir sending happy vibrations through the ship. He leaned against the panel and sighed, "Geronimo," and with that he pushed a handle, and the ship took off.
TtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTt
On a distant battle field, far, far away, sat alone the ugliest damn head the world had ever seen.
"Over here, dumbass,"
A body, pieced painfully back together over many hours, staggered back towards said head. The body itself had no head, hence its quest for said head.
"Oh for the love of chimichangas, will you just point the bastard my way?"
The body stopped and scratched its bare butt, then snapped its fingers and turned once more.
"That's what I'm talking about, come to papa,"
The headless body, more tumour than flesh, stumbled forwards and reached its head. Only, when it bent over to pick it up, it accidently kicked the ugly thing.
"Damn it," the head went bouncing, and cursing.
"Alright, I'm sorry for killing the grass smear, can I please get back to my shoulders?"
Soon the body found the head again, and this time it reached before stepping, and lifted the offensive cranium. With a wet smack the appendage was reattached, and the merc with a mouth was whole again.
Deadpool gave his head a good shake, making sure it was attached well enough, and noticed for the first time that he was completely naked. "That bitch!"
A distant whistle of an artillery shell sounded, and a huge explosion went off just beside him, sending his bare self tumbling.
"Alright, alright, no dissing bird girl! Ow!"
The mutant felt a tiny prick in his back, and with some wiggling, he pulled his sword from his side, where it was imbedded.
Turning around, he found a new uniform neatly folded in a pile, his swords on top, and a tiny silver walkman.
Quickly the man got dressed, and covered up that terrible visage. "As if yours is any better," he remarked, and the author let that one slide.
Fingering the walkman, a ring in space time appeared before him. Deadpool rolled his eyes, "Well isn't that just a Deus Ex Machina to write home about. You already practically saved everyone with Eagles."
Sliding the device into some invisible pocket, the mutant crossed his arms and tapped his foot.
"Well, aren't you going to put the thing about Gaius and Six and the Luteces? Or could you not think of anything?"
Quite frankly, he couldn't. He just hopes people got who the four beings were.
"It's fanfiction, not a scavenger hunt."
Deadpool gave the author a middle finger and stepped up to the portal, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got an R rated movie to film. Ryan Reynolds, bitch!"
With that, the conceited experiment hopped through the portal, doing a cannon ball on the way.
This of course left the author, alone. He just sat there, awkwardly before his laptop for a few minutes, thinking of some way to finish the bad boy off.
But all he could think of was how much he wanted a chimichanga.
TtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTt
A/N: This will probably be a long author's note, so feel free to skip on to the epilogue if you don't want to read :)
It's been a long haul writing this, I started back in first year University, 2 1/2 years ago. Its weird reading the first handful of chapters and how my style has changed. I don't do the scavenger hunt thing anymore, that was a terrible idea that I have no idea from whence it came. I also, thanks to a lovely comment, now separate my "" from one another, though I did go back and fix that, so you can't tell.
I got the idea for this story from two things, first, I had just burned through Kim Possible for the first time in my adult life. I love that show. Anyways, the episode "Dimension Twist" as well as the Titan's "Episode 257–494" made me want to explore some fiction crossing. I also had read a fanfic (I can't find it now) whose author and title I can't recall that had Beast Boy and Raven sucked into the world of Ocarina of Time. I don't remember much about it now, but it sparked the idea of the video game romping.
Other than that, I've had a lot of fun, albeit sprinkled with self doubt, writer's block, and periods of exhaustive scheduling. I have this tendency also to just machinate like a fiend, typing out and plotting stories in advance. It takes less effort than writing, since it's pure imagination, and often I'd sit down to write for this or Reigning Blood and end up two hours later with the entire plot of a future story charted out. Also, I lived through two computer crashes while writing this, so a lot was reworked a couple of times.
That brings me to you guys, Fanfiction community, and how wonderful you've all been. I think I lost a few of you for my lengthy update stretches, but I cannot put a value on any of you, you're the kick in the pants that gets me writing. I cannot thank you enough. And for the few of you who've followed me on other media pages, even more thanks, and sorry I'm not more interesting. Or polite... tumblr is a bane for me and I often post things I later regret. So, on that note, sorry and much thank you. You're the heroes I need, not the ones I deserve.
As for future projects, there is Reigning Blood, which I am working on, trust me, it'll be revitalized soon! I've got a story that takes place after this one, much shorter I hope, called Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers. No promises on a release date for that, it's in infancy at the moment. I've got some short, one-shot-ish stories on the go, mostly holiday themed for release on holidays. There will be, after I finish Reigning Blood, two prequel stories to the Titan's show; Saints and Sinners, exploring Raven's last few weeks on Azarath, hinted above, and Titans Together, a story of how the Titan's got from the episode "Titan's Go" to the first episode, "Final Exam" (the episode order is a little confusing, google it). There are also many more stories I have planned for after this story, but I shan't reveal any more.
So, I guess we're done here. My first project I can honestly and confidently say I've finished. There is one more bit of story to go in a brief epilogue, and then this story is done.
Much love, Me.