I'd just like to dedicate this chapter to Satoru Iwata. He's a very special person, and his love for his work helped define my childhood. When I was a kid, I loved the Legend of Zelda series, and I still do. He could never be replaced and Nintendo was lucky to have such a creative man. I didn't get a chance to write this last chapter and when I hear of his passing, I was already done, so here's his special dedication. To make matters worse, I heard that the late Robin Williams named one of his children Zelda. Zelda, people. Why? Because I heard that he loved the Legend of Zelda. My feels. *ugly sobbing and crying as I play*

So, let's give a moment of silence to the special man who brought adventure and creativity us.

So, pick up your DSes and Wii Remotes, play a Zelda game, play a Pokemon game, play a Mario game, play a Kirby game.

In Memory of Satoru Iwata.

"On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer."

Chapter 25: This is War

"Perhaps, I can take a look?"

All the Titans looked behind them to see their comrade in arms, Raven.

She wore her signature stoic face despite being covered in dirt, her unraveled blood-stained bandages, and dried and fresh blood on her coat.

"You all look like you've seen a ghost."

The erebokinetic folded her daggers back into the golden hilt, the black blades forming her gold and black studded belt, which she clipped back onto her belt.

Robin frowned; even though she was his former teammate, he couldn't help but distrust her because her shadiness. It was too coincidental for Raven to be absent most of the battle and their loss of power during the attack. He tried to rationalize why Raven would purposely sabotage their communications but came to no conclusion. Not to mention his strict, no-kill/non-lethal policy which Raven had blatantly disregarded. How she could disregard these beliefs when she knew how he felt was almost infuriating, especially since she was a pacifist. At the same time, he couldn't just turn his back on Raven; she was his close friend, his sister, his family. She had done so much in the past for them. The empath could feel his anger and worry.

"Raven. What the hell is going on here?"

They felt a small quake and the breach grew wider.

"It's a long story. But this isn't the time or the place."

The stoic stepped towards the Titans but Robin blocked her. Raven just looked at him stolidly. She understood he was only looking out for his team but at the same time, she was the only one who could help Beast Boy.

"Stand aside, Boy Wonder, unless you want a dead member."

Robin frowned.

"Look, I've treated more than my fair share of wounds. I've assisted in emergency surgeries and even performed amputations if need be. I have a thorough knowledge of human anatomy."

"Makes you a more efficient killer, doesn't it?"

Raven's frown deepened. "If Beast Boy dies, it will be on your head."

The two birds continued their stand-off until Beast Boy started hacking and wheezing. He looked up at the two and waved to Raven. Robin sighed and stepped aside, allowing Raven admission to see the dying man.

She walked over and crouched down beside Beast Boy. Her hand touched his forehead; it was damp with sweat and felt cold. Raven's face shifted back and forth between a steel mask of a experienced medic to a soft expression of a worried friend. Her lips became a thin line as she examined Beast Boy, her eyes naturally falling to his ankle.

"R...aa...e?"

"He was bitten and poisoned, I presume?"

Cyborg nodded.

"The wound has been cauterized to stop his bleeding but the poison is still in his system. Solve one problem but another replaces it", Raven examined the wound.

"So what's the verdict? Can you help him?"

She stayed silent for a moment before answering.

"I can. But it'll be a little tricky because the toxin is a like a mixture of a neurotoxin and a hemotoxin; it fast acting and paralyzing like a neurotoxin but if left untreated, you have to amputate the leg. In order to treat him, I would have to separate the poison from his blood, after that I can draw it out. I can use the same method to heal his leg, even though it's cauterized. However, that means I would have to use..."

"Blood magic..." Robin finished her sentence.

"That's right..."

Robin frowned, conflicted. He looked at the other Titans, unsure of what to do. He knew he shouldn't judge since the subject of Blood Magic was hardly his area of expertise. It was not something that should be used wantonly, and the dangers of using it could make things worse. From what he heard from Beast Boy earlier, it was dangerous; people sacrificed people or animals in blood rituals or made deals with demons. He was highly against that, but his friend and teammate's life was hanging by a thread. The leader looked at his lover, Starfire, her beautiful green eyes looking back at him anxiously. She was clearly worried about Beast Boy but she knew that sometimes these things were necessary and gave a silent nod. He turned his eyes to the metal man and best friend of the changeling. Cyborg was thinking the same thing. The big brother of the group looked at his friend before giving a silent nod.

"Don't worry; it's not as though I can become possessed. Life is not without a sense of irony; in order to help him, I have to use blood magic" Raven said in an almost amused tone.

Robin disdainfully agreed. Somehow, he knew he would regret this decisionwith, at the same time between Beast Boy dying or Raven saving him with forbidden magic, he would choose the lesser of two evils.

Raven leaned down to Beast Boy, whispering loud enough for him to hear her.

"Don't worry Beast Boy, I'm here to help you."

She looked back at the Titans.

"He'll need a small incision to draw out the poison."

"Do what you need to."

Raven nodded and removed her dagger from her belt. She pressed the large black and red gem which clicked open. Three curved blades folded out of the golden hilt with a SNAP. Raven set it aside, unzipped Beast Boy's jacket and lifted up his shirt. She slowly waved her hand above his body and stopped at the middle of his torso. The sorceress touched a small area and drew a line with her finger.

"Rectus abominus."

She picked up the dagger, wiped off the blade and cut an inch long incision right under his rib cage. Blood slowly leaked out of the freshly made cut.

Then she cut her left palm with the one of the blades, her blood trickled out of her palm. The sage held out her hands above her comrade's body, blood dripping on his stomach and chest. Her hands shook lightly as a pale blue light glowed.

Beast Boy squirmed as he felt an odd prickling heat course through his body. He reared his head back as the sensation grew more intense. He clenched his fists as his body grew more hot and sweat dripped from his face. The therianthropist slowly noticed that like he was gradually loosing control of his limbs. He made small grunting noises as the light grew brightened and dimmed.

Starfire looked at her comrades and the two shared the same look; it was a mixture of worry and regret. They had heard blood magic was dangerous, but for it to be used on their friend. It almost felt like they were crossing a line that should not be crossed. But it was too late now, Raven was already healing Beast Boy. Or for all they knew, killing him.

"Ra-Rae..."

"Quiet" Raven hushed him.

She wasn't going to let him die. The Azarathian hated herself enough, she didn't his death on her conscious.

Raven's eyes widened slightly as the light grew fainter. She hunched over him, her hands shaking more. The light grew fainter until it went out and Beast Boy stopped moving. It felt as though all the air had been sucked out of Raven's lungs as she looked at him with glassy eyes. She didn't move from her spot, her body too cold and numb to move. The world seemed to crumble in slow motion around the young Azarthian as she stared at the green Titan with no pulse, who lied dead in front of her. The empath did not know how long she was sitting there, but it felt like an eternity.

"Raven! Raven!"

Raven had completely blanked out as the other Titans gathered around. The seer paid them little attention and they tried to push her away from his body but she wouldn't budge. She had completely tuned out the cacophony of incomprehensible shouting and crying from the Titans. But, she would not accept this. Not when she could do something about this. She raised her bloodied palm, and gave them all the fiercest glare she could muster.

"Move! Don't make me use Blood magic on you too!"

The Titans froze. Sure enough, they were terrified of what she might do. They all loved Beast Boy, but for someone like Raven to use Blood magic in anger against the Titans was unlike her.

"Raven, what are you-?!"

"I said" she said as her eyes flashed crimson. "Move!"

Robin narrowed his eyes and hid a gulp.

Raven could feel Love and Happy growing weaker and weaker in Nevermore while Rage and Negativity were grew stronger. Suffice to say, Raven would be a walking misanthropist; angry at the world and humanity while loathing herself. She was close to that.

Robin relented, earning a grateful sigh from the sorceress and she dropped her hand. She looked at Beast Boy, her soft expression, forlorn. Raven took another deep breath to compose herself.

"How long was he out?"

"Almost three minutes."

She held her hand over his chest, a bead of sweat dripping down her face as her blood trickled of her palm.

"The brain can last four to six minutes until permanent brain damage sets in. He'll die if I don't resuscitate him. The lack of blood flow is a bonus as well because it'll stop the poison from spreading."

"Raven, he-"

"QUIET!"

Her blood swirled around her hand and wrist as she crushed her hand and reopened it. Nothing. She did this for about a minute, an odd sense of determination and strength fueling her.

'C'mon! C'mon!'

Nothing.

'You can't die here! You won't die here! You won't!'

She clenched her hand and reopened it again, hard. Beast Boy gasped, his eyes snapping open as his hand clawed the ground. He shook and thrashed, unable to comprehend what was going around him. Everything was moving too fast for him to process and his brain felt so scrambled. Raven sighed in relief. He was alright for now, but she still needed to purge the toxin and stabilize him.

After his breathing and heart rate slowed, Raven was able to stabilize him. The light pulsed in sync with Beast Boy's heart beat as Raven's magic flowed. His body felt so hot it felt like he was melting from the inside, sweat dripped from his face, and he felt nauseous. The green man grunted and rolled his head back and forth, as he felt a pain and pressure rise in his chest. The feeling became stronger until Raven twirled her right hand and a green liquid floated up from the incision. Then she trapped the liquid in a black bubble then she moved onto the cauterized bite wound, and moved her hands up and down. The Titans watched amazed as the burned and red flesh bubbled, muscles and veins repaired themselves. Skin regrew and stretched over the exposed wound. Aside from the redness, Beast Boy's leg looked fine.

Beast Boy's eyes reopened lackadaisically and he rolled his head over to where his savior sat. The ever present impassive expression on her pale face despite just saving his life. She placed her left palm over his unhealed incision unconsciously, her blood dripping and mixing with his blood that had had trickled out of the incision. Raven immediately withdrew her hand and wiped the blood with her cloak before healing the incision.

"Beast Boy..."

"B?"

"Friend?"

"Ugh...why do I feel like I've just been hit by a truck?"

"Yup, hell be fine."

Raven sheathed her dagger and clipped it back on her belt. She rose slowly and stepped back, letting the Titans gather around Beast Boy, except for Robin. The two birds watched as their friends coddled Beast Boy.

"It's best to quell your feelings, this is war."

"Alright. Spill it, now."

Raven sighed before shutting her eyes and reopening them. The enchantress opened her mouth to speak when a large quake shook the street and the fire seemed to be pouring from the breach.

"Dammit! Another scouting party!"

"What do you mean, 'scouting party?'"

"Everything that you've fought up until now was just reconnaissance! The enemy just wanted to test your strength! Now that they know, they can send in larger, stronger waves than before!"

"Then...what about those things that attacked me and B?"

"Hunting dogs. They sent those in to see sniff us out."

"Why have not I encountered such creatures? What about the creature that attacked me?" Starfire asked.

"I'm guessing it was a low-ranking corporal. You just happened to be where he was stationed."

"How do you know this?"

"Because, it's what I would do."

"What is this enemy?! Who?!"

Raven's glare turned to the giant hand holding the rift. She clenched her fist as a powerful gust blew by.

"I don't have time to explain!"

"Make time! Where were you?! What enemy?! What's going on?"

Raven frowned.

"What should we do?"

"We fight. We stand our ground."

"How big is this army?"

"The enemy has taken over hundreds of worlds. Some with no life, others with life. If our planet has over a billion, imagine multiple worlds with over a million inhabitants."

"An army of maybe over a billion? Yeeeaaah...no."

"We gotta do something!"

"I think that we should finish evacuating the city and look for anyone still here."

"If we did that we would have to split up again..."

"We are not splitting up again! We stick together. Besides..." Robin glanced at Beast Boy, who was still lying on the ground.

"Dudes! I'm good! Y'all don't need to worry about me!" Beast Boy said as he tried to stand up, wincing slightly.

"Beast Boy, you can barely stand."

Another screech and the Titans whipped their heads to the left. It was the creature that attacked Starfire. The four Titans, minus Beast Boy, assumed battle positions. The creature raised its spear and an army of two hundred zombies, a hundred fifty fire demons and twenty wyverns.

"I thought that thing was dead! It fell like fifteen stories!"

"Oh c'mon! Cut us some slack!"

"The hell is that thing?!" Robin barked.

"Long story!"

"This is not good!"

"We're one Titan down, and I can barely fight" Robin grit.

Raven stepped forward, and put her hand on his shoulder, giving him a stern look.

"Then stay back and watch Beast Boy. We can handle it from here."

Robin gave her a frown before yielding. He knew he could barely fight. His ribs hadn't fully healed, and his back was sore. It was a wonder he was able to move. The three remaining Titans charged the bulk of the horde.

Raven shot a crescent shaped blast that sliced through a group of zombies. Their innards and clotted blood splattering all over the street. She raised her hand to perform another necromancy spell but several wights grabbed her cloak. Spinning around sharply, the sorceress shook all of them off and flicked her wrist, causing all of them to explode. The explosion managed to knock several other zombies back.

Cyborg fired rounds from his arm cannon while Starfire took the skies and hailed starbolts. Raven took a ground assault casting spells and smashing through enemy lines with her speed. The 6'2" cybernetic Titan punched a zombie before chucking it at the alien princess, who grabbed it and tossed it at enemies charging towards Robin and Beast Boy. Raven jumped over a wight before slicing it up and fired a black ray at two oncoming demons closing in on Cyborg. He returned the favor by blasting two demons in the face behind Raven. Cyborg tiredly leaned against an overturned car. Despite being part machine, his energy had severely depleted and he sustained heavy damage earlier.

The Tamaranean pelted several fire demons and animated corpses on Raven's left, making a path. The red-skinned demon let out a shriek as it raised its' staff, which meant one thing: send in the hunting dogs. The wyverns marched towards the two Titans. The alien princess did her best to give cover to the two titans while keeping an eye on Robin and Beast Boy. Starfire shot two zombies that had gotten past Raven and Cyborg's line of attack. She zipped and zigzagged as she fired starbolts but the pain in her shoulder had grown was becoming more unbearable.

"Rae! You sure these are zombies! What if they ain't an' we're just killing these people?"

"They're dead Cyborg!" she said as she ripped out a zombie's jugular and sliced another zombie's head clean in half.

"They're just corpses now! Nothing more!"

He bashed two zombies heads together, unsure if Raven was telling the truth. Now was not the time for doubt, his friends' and other people's lives were at stake but the metal man couldn't help but feel like he was killing people. The Titans until this point never had to use deadly force. But these bloody, shambling, mindless drones that one resembled humans were like walking reminders of their failure to protect the city. The big brother of the group questioned if these creatures still possessed their consciousness, perhaps trapped in their own body while they cannot control it, would be a sort of hell. He tuned out for a moment and three wights grabbed him. The man yelled as they started to drag him down but was saved when a freeze disc froze all the zombies. He looked back at Robin staggering towards him along with Beast Boy.

Before he had a moment to call back to them, he was tail-whipped into a car by a wyvern. It let out a snarl and charged the disoriented Titan. Cyborg looked up at the creature before passing out.

"Cyborg!"

Two other wyverns were now charging at Robin and Beast Boy. Starfire looked in horror; one was fifty feet from Cyborg and closing in fast while two were going after Robin and Beast Boy. She wouldn't have enough time to save both.

Black energy wrapped around the one going after Cyborg and slammed into the two by Robin and Beast Boy. Raven melted through the asphalt by the two Titans.

"Why didn't you stay back?!"

"Think we'd miss out on this action?" Beast Boy smiled, his energy slowly coming back.

"Too bad that wyvern didn't knock the smart ass out of you" Raven said.

Raven teleported Cyborg near them. The metal man slowly coming back to his senses.

"Robin, we can't stay here" she said as she blasted a fire demon behind the Boy Wonder.

"We haven't even eliminated half of this army and there are still people within the city that need to evacuate. If you want to save them, we need to withdraw!"

Robin nod his head reluctantly. "Titans! Fall back!"

Another quake. Without warning, Raven slammed her palm into the ground and muttered something. Her own shadow expanded into a large bird-shaped one. The shadow grew larger and larger, until it covered the whole city. Raven's eyes glowed white and the four Titans dissolved into the road. If felt like they were going a million miles a minute; they zigzagged and curved all the while as the cold darkness engulfed them. They arose just along the outskirts of Jump City, along with hundreds of other people. Several people dropped to their knees while others were on the ground, unconscious. Half the people, unaccustomed to the sudden teleportation and cold sensation from Raven's powers, vomited on the ground.

"What just happened?" said one.

"Where are we?"

"Who cares! At least we're out of that hell hole!"

Raven dropped to one knee, exhausted. She could feel the other Titans' gaze with worried expressions while the evacuees hurried along to search for their families. But she paid them no attention; she was too fatigued to care. All her magic and fighting had drained her strength, then locating all the people that needed to be evacuated and teleporting them all outside of Jump City was exhausting. She was still only half-human.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah..."

The Titans watched as buildings fell and smoke drifted to the sky. Their home was crumbling. Robin didn't want to press, but now that they were out of immediate danger, now was a good time to ask questions.

"Mind telling us what the hell is happening."

Raven scoffed as she sat up. The sorceress looked at the tattered and battered Titans. She felt her love and happiness slowly drifting away. Rather, it was like Love and Happy were growing weaker; no, it felt like they were dying. She was starting to regress into a heartless fighting machine which was the last thing she wanted. But, if that meant putting a stop to the threat, or even her death, she would.

On the other, she wasn't fully sure of the situation herself, and at best was just a hypothesis.

"We have less than 2 hours. Ask now."

"Where were you?"

+2 Hours ago-South Jump City+

Raven paced impatiently as dozens of thoughts zipped through her mind. She unconsciously gripped the daggers tighter as she paced up and down the middle of the street. The demoness had been fighting against a massive migraine and whenever she took a step, a strange pain shoot through her body. As she took a step forward, she dropped her obsidian daggers that landed on the ground with a loud metallic CLANG!

The sound almost too loud for her ears as she dropped to the ground, as she snapped her eyes shut and clutched her head. Raven quaked as the pain became stronger and stronger. She gasped as she reopened one eye. Her back felt like it was on fire, and her scar started to re-appear. A reddish glow emanating from the stigma.

"My...my scar..." she breathed out.

The Azarthian jerked her hand and two orbs of light swirled around.

Two Raven look-alikes appeared but they wore different cloaks and had different eyes than the real Raven. One wore an aqua cloak with matching eyes while the other wore a lavender one and lavender eyes.

"Mistress!" the lavender one said as she knelt down to Raven.

"This is bad" said the other. "We healed it last time, so it should not have appeared for some time."

"Just heal me!" Raven hissed through the pain.

Raven's emoticlones, Sagacious and Love, nodded and held their hands over Raven's back to begin the healing process. A blue light glowed from their hands but the pain was becoming too intense.

"It's...not working..."

Both emoticlones doubled their power but Raven shut her eyes and fell unconscious.

+Present+

"Look, we have less than 2 hours until the main threat and bulk of the horde will commence their attack. Maybe even less."

"That giant tear in the sky, what is it?"

"I'm not sure. I can only guess that it's an opening of formerly closed spaces."

"What the hell does that mean?" Cyborg asked.

"I think it's a breakdown or weakening of dimensional walls. When a dimension or timespace comes in contact with another, it can have adverse effects of that dimension. This is Shangrila and Lacrima all over again..."

"Come again?"

"Nothing, never mind."

"How do we close it?"

"If I can get close, I can isolate the breach and seal the rift. But it's most likely guarded by demons, and it's not like any of us can fight in our condition."

"Well, we can't just do nothing! Jump City is in danger! If whatever comes out of that hole is worse, then maybe the whole world too!"

"Ever the enthusiasts...This world is doomed one way or another. What's the point in saving it?" Raven asked.

"Five minutes ago you were ready to help these people! You were helping us out! This entire time you were here, you've been fighting crime with us, living with us! You can't tell me that the entire time you were here you felt nothing!" Robin snapped.

"You're part of this world, whether you like it or not" Beast Boy said. "You can't just keep running away Raven."

"Next question" Raven said as her eyes softened as she looked away, wanting to change the subject.

Robin stepped in. "That giant hand...Is that who I think it is..."

The enchantress let a hateful laugh which caught the Titans off-guard. Raven never laughed. She slowly stood up and drifted a steps back, her back to the city. Her menacing smile, the flames and smoke behind her along with the dark sky, while the wind whipped her cloak and hair gave her an almost sinister appearance. It seemed like she was the enemy and the herald of destruction, itself.

"Forgive me..."

The Titans were ready to take battle positions when they heard a small beeping. They looked to a small gold disc studded with a black and red gem; they had seen it somewhere before. Their eyes turned to the former Titan who was just behind the marker. Then they looked to Raven's belt, it was missing several parts.

"I'm sorry. I can't have any of you interfere."

"Raven!"

"If I'm going to fight..."

The marker shook until a large pillar of pale blue light flared up from the gem. They looked around and saw four three pillars in the distance and heard a strange whirling sound. The four pillars pulsed as a ray of light shot out from each of them and formed a circle. The circle enclosed all of Jump City and the breach. They felt a rush of air, shutting their eyes briefly.

"I can't have a heart."

The Titans ran towards their friend but their legs were frozen in place and they couldn't move. That's when they noticed the still dripping blood on Raven's palm. They gasped in surprise; she had used blood magic to control them, to stop them. She took several steps back, her eyes turning icy as she felt Happy's presence slowly fade. Raven could feel her humanity and what was left of her compassion fading. The empath turned her back on the Titans as black energy erupted from the ground.

Beast Boy snapped out of it and his body moved on its own. Everything seemed to moving in slow motion as he rose and ran past the Titans. His hand stretched out to her as his feet ran, everything just seemed like a blur.

He ran past the marker. A second later, a large black wall stretching to the heavens rose up behind him. He and Raven were gone.

The spell broke and the Titans could breathe again. They dropped to their knees before they looked up to see the wall extended for miles and Jump City was completely enclosed in the black shield.

"Raven! Beast Boy!"

The trio pounded and punched the force-field in vain.

"She...she used blood magic on us! That's despicable!"

"BB is in there!"

Starfire rocketed above the clouds, to her dismay, there didn't seem to be an end to the shield. She drifted back down onto the ground to her comrades and shook her head.

"What the hell is happening in there?"

End.

So what'dya think? Lemme know!