Chapter 24 Nightmare Come True
Beast Boy couldn't even describe what he was feeling as he looked at Raven's demon form. Sweat perspired all over his body, his palms felt clammy, and he was just a push away from screaming again and curling up into a tiny little ball. Sure, those were the symptoms of fear, but honestly? It couldn't even be that. Fear wasn't this strong. Fear wasn't this horrid.
This couldn't be happening.
Out of all the things that could have happened…out of all the horrible scenarios that the Titans ended up finding themselves in…why did it have to be Raven's greatest fear? Why did she have to lose control, and lose control in a similar situation to her nightmares, no less? Looking at her right now, Beast Boy wanted nothing more than to break out of his crystal cage and go assist her. However, one knock against the cage, getting a feel for exactly how hard it was, told him that wasn't an option. That meant that all he could do was watch, helplessly, as the serious Titans faced off against his ex-girlfriend. What would become of them? What would become of all of them?
"Yeesssss!" Robin said, jumping up and down in a giddy rhythm. "Finally, one of my teammates is taking this fighting thing seriously! We could actually win this!"
Beast Boy gulped. Right now, the only thing he could do was hope that everyone would get out of this.
…
Raven tried to formulate a plan. Her mind raced, filling her with a fearful emotion that normally she tried her darndest to repress. She turned toward her teammates, hoping that they would have an idea of what to do. Unfortunately, both of them looked just as taken aback by Raven's transformation as she was. It seemed that she wouldn't be getting any help from them.
Great.
Raven shot her tentacles forward, barely missing touching Raven's skin with their sickly, slimy touch. She jumped out of the way, as did Robin and Cyborg. Once he had righted himself, Cyborg shot a barrage of sonic cannon blasts at the beast.
While their opponent was distracted, Robin turned toward her. "Raven, do you know what's happening? Why did her gem crack? Why did she turn into a monster?"
Raven bit her lip. "I'm not sure. The gem on my forehead is a symbol of my citizenship on Azarath, nothing more."
Right as she said that, Raven's eyes glowed red. Before Cyborg could react, the ground underneath his feet glowed black. It flipped up from under him, sending him careening toward the force field.
"LOSER!"
THAT filled Raven with rage. The Master of Games was just watching this and not doing anything to stop it? Didn't he see that this whole thing was dangerous? Didn't he see that Raven clearly needed help? She faced him, her eyes glowing white. She didn't know if he saw it though, as not only was she far away, but he also focused his attention on the fight. In a quick moment, he pressed a button on the armrest of his chair, causing a black gem of sorts to pop out of the ground in the center of the arena.
Raven blinked. What on Earth…? That gem…it looked like hers. It looked like Raven's!" And yet, it was bigger; much bigger. A pit formed in her stomach as she formed a hypothesis regarding the gem's origins. She had seen one that size only once before, on the forehead of…
"RAVEN, LOOK OUT!"
Raven gasped and jumped into the air as another one of Raven's tentacles shot towards her. The beast growled, clearly not content with letting her get away. It shot another tentacle at her. In a swift movement, Raven put her arms in front of her and formed a shield out of her signature black aura. The beast's tentacles slammed into it, and she screamed as a result.
Raven made the shield go away and looked down at Robin. "Robin, we needed to help her turn back to normal!"
Robin blinked. "How are we going to do that?" He shrieked as another tentacle shot towards him.
Raven sighed. "I don't know…" she looked back at the demon. Her stomach churned looking into those wicked red eyes. Determination filled her. "But we have to try."
Robin nodded and looked back at the beast. "I think one possible way to do it might be by defeating her." When that was said, he jumped into the air and hurled a barrage of birdarangs at her. When he landed, he clearly expected the birdarangs to come in contact with Raven and cause her pain. To both his and Raven's shock, however, Raven stopped the birdarangs telekinetically and hurled them at him. Robin managed to run at a speed fast enough to dodge them. Unfortuantely, he was distracted enough so that when Raven shot a tentacle at him, he didn't notice until it was too late. He screamed as it wrapped around his ankle and threw him toward the force field.
"LOSER!"
When Robin appeared in his crystal cage, his double cheered with an enthusiasm that he really shouldn't have. "YES! WE CAN STILL WIN THIS!" He sneered at the serious Titans. "Have fun being losers, losers!"
Raven shook her head. What an annoying little stain, completely and utterly unaware of the severity of this scenario. She turned back toward her double. She was the only one left in the arena, the only one who could beat Raven. She only hoped that she could do it.
As if her double heard her thoughts and wanted to challenge them, Raven telekinetically grabbed the glass parts forming the ceiling of the arena. Raven barely had time to react as they fell down with intention to crush her. She managed to dodge them all, but she mostly attributed that to luck more than anything else.
…
Robin cringed when he saw Raven, locked in what looked like a losing battle. The team needed to help her out. If Raven lost to her double, it was all over. They needed to end this rotten tournament, for this situation was so dire that they might not make it out alive otherwise.
Robin locked his gaze on the Master of Games, grinning giddily and wickedly as he floated on his chair just outside of the forcefield. Robin began forming a plan. If they could just get to the Master, out of these crystal cages…
"Cyborg," Robin whispered. "We need to get to the Master of Games. Do you think you can find a frequency for these crystal cages that can shatter them?"
Cyborg blew some air out his mouth. "Whew. That might take a little bit." His voice filled with determination. "But I'll try my best."
Robin nodded. Hopefully, his best would be good enough in this situation.
…
"YAAH!" Raven yelled at the top of her voice. Focusing harder than she ever had before, she telekinetically broke the pieces of the dome into hundreds of sharp, pointy shards. She shot them at Raven, specifically at her wing. They stuck there, causing the beast to shriek in pain. It was a miracle that she didn't bleed.
Raven landed on the ground once again. She thought about what to do next. There was one possible way to end this, one possible way to purify Raven quicker than originally projected. However, Raven had only done it once before. Could she do it now?
WHACK!
Raven grunted as her double's tentacles wrapped around her ankles and her wrists. She struggled as she was held aloft, but was unable to break free. The only thing she could do was wait as the beast brought her closer, looking like she was ready to swallow her whole.
"That's it!"
Raven actually felt afraid looking into her double's eyes. She turned away, wanting to avoid that red glow by any means necessary. She looked toward the center of the arena.
And that's when she gasped.
The gem! Parts of Raven's body had attached to it, and now parts of it were turning from black to red.
"Almost there…' the Master said.
Raven shook. The fact that the gem was drawing from demonic energy to power it…that confirmed Raven's fears. That gem belonged to the Titans' greatest enemy, HER greatest enemy. And enemy that she had prayed she would never have to face again. It seemed that God had answered those prayers with a horrible, resounding "no."
But she couldn't let that bother her now. If that gem took in all of Raven's energy, all hope was lost. Raven needed to end this, and there was only way that she could. She hadn't been sure if it would work before, but she needed to try. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Azarath…Metrion….ZINTHOS!"