Hello, everyone! Shorter chapter today, but in the grand scheme of things I released another chapter and it hasn't even been a week! I am trying to do this thing where I actually dedicate myself to finish something. (Like this story). I would like to thank everyone though as this story has officially passed 25k views!!! I am amazed and so grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! In the meantime, please enjoy and don't forget to review.

Just a warning, as this deals with darkness I tried to make the darkness, well, dark. I don't know how well I achieved that, but I didn't want anyone walking in without a warning just in case.

I do not own DC comics or any of the characters


Robin placed his hands on his knees, panting as he tried to catch his breath. While he knew Bruce would be furious with him, probably the most furious he had ever been, Dick Grayson knew he had no other choice. He had not only taken to the streets, but had brought some of his best friends with him. He looked up, a wave of gratitude flooding him, as he met the eyes of Aqualad, Roy Harper, and Kid Flash.

Every single one of them, even KF, looked exhausted and yet the onslaught had yet to cease. Just after leaving Arkham with Kid Flash, the commissioner had called him to inform him that Jarvis Tetch, the Mad Hatter, had abducted some of members of the GCPD, and put his dastardly mind control hats on them to 'battle the darkness of the Jabberwocky'.

They had battled their way to where he was holding them hostage when the onslaught began. Waves and waves of what Robin was hesitant to call zombies rained down on the heroes. They were people, ordinary civilians, but as mad as any inmate in Arkham. Tetch looked just as surprised as Robin and Kid Flash had, fearful even, leading Robin to believe that this force was what Tetch, in his delusions, believed was the Jabberwocky. They shambled towards them, their faces twisted in expressions of grim despair as they picked up the desolate chant, "Night will fall! Death will call! She will conquer all!"

After a few moments of valor, Robin knew that if he and Kid Flash were to survive the night they would need help. He quickly sent SOS messages to Aqualad, Zatanna, Roy Harper, and Superboy. Zatanna and Superboy had been working their way toward the trio when a new wave of thralls had wedged their way between them. As it was, Zatanna had at least 30 souls at her feet under the control of an powerful sleeping curse while Superboy was doing his best to simultaneously use his strength to pummel his opponents while holding himself back from actually injuring them in their stupor.

Robin, having finally caught his breath, eased his way over to Zatanna, still having to yell at the top of his lungs to be heard over the melee. "So is this magic or what? Do you think you could do some kind of counter-curse or reverse mojo or whatever voodoo you do?" Zatanna rolled her eyes at him and let loose another volley of force before landing on the ground next to him. "I don't do voodoo. I do sorcery. There is a difference. It does look like magic, but way stronger than anything I've ever faced. Ancient. The only thing that I can even compare it to is the magic that Dr. Fate controls." Robin's blood ran cold. Dr. Fate had some of the most ancient magic he had ever heard tales of. What kind of forces were they up against. Maybe I should call in the League... Bruce would be furious, but what were a handful of sidekicks supposed to do against something this powerful?

His hope was dwindling by the minute as he observed his friends. Aqualad was starting to look parched and even though he wasn't desperate enough to tap into Gotham's decrepit, toxin-filled sewer system, he appeared to be nearing that point. Kid Flash was looking like he had just ran a marathon which, in Robin's approximation, meant he had ran at least a couple hundred thousand miles. Zatanna's voice was nearly hoarse, her spell casting beginning to slow and Superboy had begun to stagger with every blocked attack.

That's it, young Robin, give up your hope. I was beginning to worry you would never lose enough hope to open the threshold holding me at bay. You've struggled so valiantly, and for what? What is the point in all this...you and your friends all dead? Or worse, the survivor's guilt when you realize you led your friends to their doom? Why risk your lives when you can pledge yourself to me? I feel the tremor in your limbs, the exhaustion flooding your system. Soon the adrenaline from battle will abandon you and the darkness will overtake you. Wouldn't it be better to go willingly into the dark night?Shouldn't a bird fly free? Robin shuttered as the cool, calculating voice whispered in his mind. He knew that it wasn't right, he had a reason to resist, but suddenly he couldn't recall what it was. An icy chill crept into his bones, almost as if it was feeding on his will to live.

That's it, my darling boy. I'll protect you and the ones you love. I will conceal you, defend you. Wouldn't you like that?You have seen what I have done to those twisted minds rotting away in Arkham. I have made them conform. They will no longer harm anyone, let alone your dearest love. Look closely at the wisdom of my rule. Night will fall, Robin. Do not believe the lies they tell you about the darkness.

Darkness brings with it the beauty of the moon and lull of the tides, the healing power of sleep, the quiet dreams that fuel the future. Man would be nothing without the darkness. Death's beckoning call entreats those who stand obstinately in my way. You are your friends will be no different if you deny me. I have been lenient with you as you have not known my ways, but now I offer you my teachings. Become one of my own. Serve the eternal night willingly. Submit to your fears. Only then will you become invincible, only then will you learn the fallacy of the light. Think closely, boy, you already are a creature of the night. Pledge yourself and become its child in truth.

Robin shook his head frantically, trying to clear the voice from his racing thoughts, but the longer she spoke the less calculating she sounded and the more intoxicating her words became. Her voice, once frigid, now dripped with entrancing charm, drawing him into her embrace as a mother does an injured child. It jumped between trying to frighten him and bait him, but yet he longed to answer.

Gathering his wits enough to focus on his friends, he noticed that they, too, were in a daze. The sky, though the sun was already beginning to set, grew even darker, drowning out the sunset before the sun even reached the horizon. The streetlights slowly dimmed until they went out completely. City lights that never went out, the ones that alerted you to the presence of a city even miles away, twinkled and faded until Robin could barely see a hand in front of his face. Even face to face with the Joker, Robin could never remember feeling such a gut-wrenching panic, a dread that made him want to scream incoherently, curl up into a ball, and cry until nothingness claimed him.

I can help you with your guilt, Robin. We both know that it's your fault Barbara is in that wheelchair. You and Bruce boast of your intelligence and your technical ability, but yet you had no idea that Joker was lying it wait. Even now, do you help her? No, you just sit at her bedside like a grimy worm, watching her waste away into a husk of the vibrant girl she used to be. You don't deserve her. You don't deserve the light. You don't deserve to live, but I will, in my loving mercy, allow you to side with me. After all, in the darkness all shame is hidden and out of your little band of side kicks, we both know you hold the most to be ashamed of. Well, Robin? The time is at hand. Do you accept my inevitable victory? Do you join the darkness...or die with the light?

In the darkness, ringing out in as an ominous anthem, Robin's friends picked up the chant as their eyes darkened to jet black. "Darkness will fall, death will call, SHE WILL CONQUER ALL!"


I hope everyone enjoyed this short chapter! I would like to mention that this story is soon going to be ending and I do have a sequel already partially started. I will probably finish Thy Sword is not Thy Strength before I post it, however. Following that I have a couple of Thor fanfics partially in the works and if anyone has read my Star Wars short, it seems as though there may be some interest in a complete story. If you have any preferences please let me know in the comments. Otherwise, please don't forget to review!