Teen Titans: The Blood War (PG-13)

[Glensather]

All right, here's the premise:

01. This is Teen Titans, all right... but I've crossed it over with D&D's cosmology. Meaning that a lot of stuff will happen, and like the Titans, a lot of you will probably wonder just what's going on (of course, I figure the lot of you are smart enough to get it ^.^ ).

02. Raven is a central character, so those of you who don't like her might not like this. I say might, because really the reason she deserves mention is because she garners her own arc of story time... well, planned story time.

03. Be prepared to have your world flipped on its head.

So, without further ado, here's the premier edition of Teen Titans: The Blood War...

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Amidst the Eternal Waves of Time
From A Ripple of Change Shall the Storm Arise
Out of the Abyss Peer the Eyes of a Demon
Behold the Razgriz, Its Wings of Black Sheath

On Earth, peace reigns…
Slade has become dormant,
Terra is still locked away in her stone prison,
And Trigon has been banished from the mortal realm.

But things are not always peaceful,
And there is still a war being waged…

Across the planes of the multiverse,
Angel turns on devil,
And devil turns on demon,
In the eternal struggle known as the Blood War,

Though distant from all but one,
This war will suddenly be closer to Earth,
Than it has for many millennia…

Trigon was only the prelude,
The First Act,
The Opening Curtain,
And now the Titans will proceed,
Through their acts, playing their parts,

Their destinies are etched in the cosmic wheel…


Eternal Waves – Prologue to a Nightmare

Shadows of a city tend to jump out at you.
Case in point: As a mugger ran away from his victim, grinning like the fool he was, he didn’t anticipate to run into what could only be considered a mass of writhing shadows jump out of a shadowed alleyway, grabbing and constricting him, holding him in place with such great effort that for a moment the man thought that he would surely die. He screamed for mercy, and was let go almost as quickly as he had been constricted. He gasped for air, looking into the shadows with fear.

He was greeted with twin points of violet fire, floating in the darkness, a disembodied red flame hovering just underneath them. The mugger, now in a fit of sheer panic, dropped that which he had stolen and ran off in the opposite direction, screaming incoherently about the danger of the shadows. It was almost amusing to the twin violet flames, and as the fire died out, they turned and departed, uncaring or unnoticing the victim running up to the alleyway and picking up her purse, looking both gratefully and fearfully into the maw of the shadow, before slowly taking a few steps back and running off.

The twin flames moved silently down the alleyway before coming to a certain spot on the wall of the building to their right. Swiftly, the violet lights shot up the wall, moving quickly yet clumsily, before coming to rest on top of the building. The twin flames peered around, looking for more adversaries, but found none. Slowly, they made their way across the roof, and slowly, they began to take form.

There was a breeze of wind, and the rustle of cloth. A dark purple cloak whipped around thin air. Slowly, almost as if stepping out of a shadow, the cloak produced a body of black and white. The twin flames were two violet eyes, set on a young face, atop a body clad in a black leotard, with a simple ruby-chain belt around a feminine waist. The cloak hid the violet hair that would have otherwise been visible, and atop the small building, a sorceress looked out to the city.

Raven grinned almost devilishly, the delight she received from stopping a crime in progress still fresh in her mind. She was most satisfied with herself this time, even though she had almost killed the man in her recklessness. It was not her job to kill, or to hurt other humans, but Raven was known to have gone out of her way to bring people to justice sometimes; even if that meant severely wounding or almost killing them with shadow and flame.

The girl lifted her left arm and looked at the armband that lay upon it. She twisted her arm palm-up and with her right hand opened a panel on the armband. There were a series of six buttons, and when she pushed the third one, a holographic display shot up three inches and produced a loading screen before a masked boy appeared on screen.

“My sector is clear,” she reported to the boy, who nodded. “Other than a few muggers and having to break up a gang fight, there’s been nothing interesting as of late,” she paused, then added, “I’m bored,”

“So am I,” replied the masked boy on the other end. “The others are reporting similarly throughout the city; looks like there’s nothing left for the night,”

“Meet you back at the tower?” Raven asked, looking down thirty feet at the people who walked the night; perhaps some of them had an agenda, or perhaps not. There was both benevolence and malign tendencies below her, as there was water and air; humanity could only produce such a result.

“Sounds good to me,” Robin answered. “Nothing’s happening, and the police can probably handle whatever breaks out,” he looked around, pausing. “I guess it’s safe to tell everyone to go home. Meet you there,” and with that, he shut off his own link, and the line went dead. Raven sighed and looked out at the world once more as she closed her armband. Silently, the girl focused on her inner power reserves – her backup – and her feet began to lift off the ground. Raven focused on the tower in the distance, a gigantic T-shaped building in the middle of an island in the middle of a bay, and began to fly there.

It had been a long night, and a slow one, but Raven had used much of her power on stopping adversaries quickly. Also, breaking up the gang fight had taken a bit more work than she expected, and the feeling of fatigue crept through her blood. Deep down, Raven knew that there other, darker power she could tap. She prayed that she would never need it, and cleared her mind. Her home was calling to her, and to relax would be bliss.

-

Raven had walked in with nary a word and sat alone in the main room of the tower. One by one, the other four Titans trickled in, but Raven ignored them and simply engrossed herself in a book she had bought a few days ago. Briefly, she wondered if the stars were indeed right, but dismissed it when a shattering noise broke her concentration, and she had to put down the book and focus on whatever the noise was.

It became apparent when it was in fact a green-skinned elf-boy dressed in a black and purple jumpsuit who had walked in with a glass, tripped over his own two feet, and fell down the few stairs, tossing the glass of water in the air and causing it to shatter against the thick windows across the room. Sitting up, Beast Boy grinned and laughed nervously, a blush of embarrassment forming across his cheeks.

“Sorry about that,” he told the assembled. “I was just distracted,”
“By… what?” Robin asked, curious.
“Well… I don’t know,” the wild shaper replied, scratching his head. “I was just thinking, I guess… you know, it’s been really quiet for the past few weeks,”

“You should enjoy the quiet,” a third voice replied. Sitting next to Robin, an almost orange-skinned alien girl with bright green, almost jade eyes looked over and smiled at the doppelganger. “I for one am glad we do not have to fight anything more serious than a thief,”

“Starfire’s right,” Voice number 4 said. Sitting on the couch opposite Raven (she noticed for the first time), and looking like he was clad in futuristic armor, Cyborg flipped channels mindlessly. “It’s nice to have some peace and quiet for once in our lives,”

“I’m not complaining about that,” Beast Boy argued, walking over and gathering the broken pieces of glass. “It’s just that if something happened, it’d be a nice change from all this monotony; get up, run around the city, come back, relax, run around the city, come home, go to sleep – man, I like vacation as much as the next guy, but this is ridiculous,” he looked disappointed at the broken glass before walking over and dropping it in the trashcan. He nodded, satisfied, and took a seat on the couch next to Raven. “What about you, Raven?” he asked. “What do you do for fun?”

“I don’t do fun,” Raven replied, picking her book back up and opening it. “I read, and that’s enough for me,” she frowned at the question, but held no ill will toward the green-skinned boy. “Maybe you should go fly or something; it’s kind of nice to go flying at night,”

“Except I have to be a stupid bat to do that,” Beast Boy whined, leaning back into the couch and huffing. “If I’m going to fly, I’ll be a hawk or something; you know, so I can ride the thermals and chill,”

“Till you run into a chopper’s blades,” Raven cracked. Looking at the girl, almost shocked, Beast Boy noticed the hint of a smile that had crept up on the girl’s lips, even as she continued reading. He considered retorting before relaxing back into the couch, absently watching as Cyborg flipped channels.

“Man, there’s nothing on Tuesday night!” complained the tall boy as he tossed the controller to Robin. “You’d think they would come up with something to fill the gap between Monday Night Football and Friday Night Primetime, but instead you get these filler sitcoms,”

“I am actually rather fond of the show…” Starfire began. “What is it called? Friends, right?” Robin nodded. “It is amusing and reminds me of ourselves sometimes,”

“Except you don’t randomly break out into song about cats like that one episode,” Beast Boy replied. His smile quickly turned into one of horror as Starfire opened her mouth to sing. “Don’t! That wasn’t an open invitation!” The alien girl quickly shut up and sat back down next to Robin, who flinched only slightly at the contact. The boy laughed nervously and ran a gloved hand through his hair.

“There’s got to be something on,” he said, mostly to himself while flipping channels. “There’s never a time when there’s nothing on, right?”

Unfortunately, he was wrong, and so, one by one, the Titans retired to bed. Raven was the last to go, shutting off the TV, turning out the lights, and activating the security system. Briefly, she looked back at the couch and lifted her hand. Her book lifted into the air and flew towards her, spine facing the girl. She grabbed it out of midair and walked to her room quietly. In the dark, Raven was one with shadow, and they seemed to claw at her as she made her way to her room and opened the door, stepping inside and listening to it shut with a hiss.

-

He was on a maglev train again.
Robin, dressed in his mask and uniform, looked around the train. The setting sun tossed a red light through the windows and upon him, and Robin had to look down in order not to be blinded. Outside, the sound of the train rushing down the track was all that greeted his ears.

Robin knew he was dreaming; he should be in the bed, sleeping peacefully and dreaming pleasant dreams about Starfire, but instead, he was here again. If he had to guess, it was not so much a maglev train as the subway that evolved into an above-ground train, which would put him on the Third Line, heading out or into the city. He had memorized the maps of the city, and knew that this should be one of those trains.

Robin looked to his right to see that he had a guest this time. Sitting in the corner was a man, dressed in an old suit that was outdated in the Victorian era except for the decidedly modern-day hat he wore on his head. He had arms almost as long as his legs, and he was hunched over in an almost comfortable position… if it weren’t for the fact that he had turned his neck almost 100 degrees to look at Robin.

The boy shivered as he stared into the man’s red eyes – eyes of brimstone and flame that seemed to come from deep within the man, an eternal fire that no ice could ever put out. Robin wanted to throw up as the man grinned, and a horrible stench, like that of rotting flesh, and Robin could tell it was coming from the man. He willed himself to move, but his legs weren’t responding as the man stood up and walked up to him. He clutched the boy by the head and lifted him into the air, still smiling as he bent in and opened his yellow-fanged mouth.

“So you are one of Trigon’s Banishers?” it asked. Robin managed a muffled response as he continued to drive and move, but paled as he realized that he was frozen in fear. “No matter; flesh is flesh, and blood is blood,”

Robin screamed as he felt fangs enter his shoulder blades.

And screamed.

And screamed.

And was screaming when he awoke.

Robin ran to his bathroom and vomited into the toilet right next to the sink. The stench of the man/monster was still fresh in his mind, and even as he stood up and took a breath, he could smell it everywhere; he almost felt as if it was on him. Robin looked at himself in the mirror and ran a hand through his hair, wincing as pain shot through his shoulder. I must have bumped it, he thought. Pulling his shirt to the side, Robin glanced at his shoulder.

And paled as he noticed two large bite marks on his shoulder… and then he screamed as he saw the wounds open, and blood gush out of them.

-

Cyborg opened his one human eye and surveyed his room.

It was just as he left it; pristine and quiet, save for the humming of the ever-active computers surrounding him. The door was still locked, and a quick check revealed that it was only 2:30 in the morning. He frowned at that, and closed his eye again.

He wished briefly he could dream before he shut himself off again.

-

There was something haunting about the way Terra danced with Beast Boy in his dreams. To him, it was almost as if she was an Angel, and he was trying to dance as a mere man. The two danced in a waltz, and as he spun her in time to music he had heard long ago, he smiled as her golden hair flew about her head, almost too slow to be real. Part of Beast Boy knew that it was in fact a dream, but it was content with simply existing like this now… not worried about the boring life of the waking world, but instead watching himself dance with a girl who was now literally nothing but his perfect dream.

He was also aware that something was different about the way the pianist was sitting; usually, he was sitting up, relaxed, playing his parts quietly and with joy. But this time, the man was hunched over and playing close to the piano, looking more like the hunchback than the piano player he had named Tim in reality. But as he and Terra shared a brief kiss while dancing, it was all forgotten. The young boy smiled at the girl as they continued dancing, and his conscious self only tugged slightly on the rope, also lost in the girl known to them as Terra.

“You know, some people would call her Judas,” a voice said. Looking around, Beast Boy looked at the pianist, who stood tall, his lean frame ripping apart the tuxedo he wore and revealing a blood red robe that smelled of ashes. “The Great Betrayer,” Looking back, Terra was gone, leaving only the shapechanger to fight the pianist. “Even now, she leaves you,”

“It wasn’t her choice!” Beast Boy shouted back, his anger seeping through his words.
“Wasn’t it?” asked the robed man; Beast Boy suddenly realized that the man’s eyes were red like fire. “Wasn’t it her who led the five of you through a rat maze, only to end up in Slade’s clutches? Wasn’t it her who led you and the others to die? Wasn’t it her who betrayed you most of all?” the man smiled and pointed his finger at Beast Boy, who only sighed in sadness.

“It wasn’t her choice,” he echoed, his words hollow.
“Listen to yourself,” the man said almost gleefully. “Not even you are concerned about the girl’s supposed ‘innocence’…”

“She did what she could to save us in the end, though,” Beast Boy argued, falling to his knees.
“Some ending for her,” muttered the man, folding his hands in his robes. “What a *****,”

Beast Boy looked up suddenly, his eyes afire. “Don’t you dare call her that!” he shouted, standing. Surprisingly, the man only grinned.

“Yes, unleash your inner beast,” he whispered. “Tear me apart,” he laughed as Beast Boy howled, his shirt ripping as he transformed. His hands and feet grew claws, his entire body covered in hair, and his mouth extending into a small snout. The Man-Beast Lycanthrope that had consumed Beast Boy howled in rage and charged the blood and ashes-robed man, who stood and grinned, raising a hand into the air and calling forth an inky blackness to spill across Beast Boy’s dreamscape. The Lycanthrope howled into the darkness, a darkness which it couldn’t fight. Icy black tendrils rose from the darkness and grasped the beast, who continued to howl at the man, clawing at him.

The man smiled and turned away, stepping off the stage and into nothingness. The tendrils worked their way into the Lycanthrope’s body and tore at it endlessly.

Beast Boy was still screaming when he woke up, his sheets torn to pieces and blood seeping from his fingertips.

-

Starfire and her people don’t dream like humans do. Instead, they have visions of events that could and could not happen. Call it a gift bestowed upon them by their god… though perhaps curse would sometimes work in this case.

In Starfire’s vision, she saw the city she lived in, her city, being burned to ashes by a legion of monsters. In the center of the bay, above the tower, a great hurricane was hovering, but instead of raining, monsters poured from the eye above the tower. Great, terrible monsters; dragons wreathed in flame, winged men with fiery swords and whips, great spiders flying down on webbing, and some so hard to describe that the girl felt the urge to go mad just by looking at them.

On the ground, monsters fought with other monsters for dominance. The whip-wielders fought with strange skeletal knights on the backs of flame-mane horses, and many rose up out of the ground to do battle with the ones from the sky. The girl was surrounded by these fire-ridden monstrosities, unsure of what she should do. She couldn’t scream or yell, and her own bolts failed to appear. She could, however, cry, and as she fell to her knees, she felt tears appear under her eyes. She cried silently for a miracle.

But if Heaven was listening, there was no answer.

Starfire didn’t scream when she awoke from her vision, but instead pulled her covers about herself and shivered with fear.

-

Raven wasn’t asleep like the others – well, not in the human sense. In her mind, she was in her world; the world beyond the mirror. In this world, the rules were Raven’s, and only those who found an alternate route in or those with exceptionally strong minds could penetrate such a place. As her body relaxed and prepared for the upcoming day, in her mind she was keeping herself sharp and balanced.

She sat among herself. Her mind was populated with aspects of herself, of which she counted in this council thirteen, including herself. They all were dressed differently from her own, as in this world she was clad in white, while the self that controlled her Reason was in the violet. Nonetheless, all had the same soul, the same violet fires that made their eyes.

“It is time,” the one in Yellow said.
“The blood tide rises,” the one in Green whispered.
“And the war cannot contain itself forever,” the one in Grey said.
“It is time,” all twelve echoed to Raven.

“Time for what?” Raven asked them. She found that her Selves tended to be more knowledgeable about the comings and goings of the universe than even her as a whole. Perhaps a ‘gift’ from my father? She thought darkly as the others paused before continuing.

“The End Times?” One in Blue asked.
“Armageddon?” One in Orange muttered.
“No, something worse,” Yellow said.
“Est bellum de sanguis,” Violet said. When Raven stared at her questioningly, she translated. “The Blood War,”

“The Blood War?” asked Raven. “From the book of Azar, written in 1838 by the Right Hand, Melchior?” Violet nodded.

“The Herald of the Blood War,” she responded, and waved a hand. Between the Thirteen, a vision appeared; one of a great, grey battlefield. “Behold, the Grey Wastes of Hades, the great battlefield of the Blood War. The turning point of the entire fight is here,” she paused. “The War will spill onto Earth,”

“But I thought that was impossible,” Raven said defiantly. Violet looked at her.
“Is it?”

And she awoke.

[TeenTitansGO!]

May I first say that I love this plot? Very gritty, in fact too gritty for Titans, but I think you can handle it. I do think you have a tad of cheesy poetics at the beginning. I'd cut that short next time 'round.

Like I said, you've got a wonderful idea, and your technical skills are awesome, but there are just a couple of things I'm concerned about.

1. You said "twin flames" like 80 times. I do this a lot, and most of the time I have to go back and spend an hour fixing it. Come up with new descriptive nouns, and don't just use a thesaurus.
2. On that note, I think you did use a thesaurus. Either that, or you have a humongous vocabulary that you're learning to put into use. I just felt that some larger words were out of place and may have been better suited for a scientific study rather than a work of fiction.:sad:
3. Descriptions. You love colors. That's understandable. When most people start really using descriptions they try to take color to an ultimate maximum because it's just "cool" or something. Instead of color, find some new things. Smell, like you used, is very good, and even just the feeling of a place or thing can be helpful.
4. Holy crap. I love the way you started that chapter. "Shadows of a city tend to jump out at you." If you could write with that attitude all the time, you would be my favorite person ever.
5. Did you give Raven new powers?

In addition to that, I'll say again, you've definitely got something amazing here. Keep it up. I'm way more than interested.

TTG~Matt H. Hangin' out, waitin' for the next round

[Glensather]

Thanks for the compliment. I'll admit that I've been working on this plot off and on, though, so it's a little unpolished.

1/2: Actually, I do have a hueg (yes, that was intentionally misspelled) vocabulary. I paid way too much attention in English and Literature classes, and it's come back to haunt me ^.^ . I'll try and tone it down in that regard, and find other words to diversify. Any suggestions from anyone who's been reading this would be greatly appreciated.

3: I'm experimenting with using other descriptors, as I mentioned earlier. Nothing will come into fruition in that regard for a while, prolly, but as I said earlier, if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to PM/reply here.

5: I guess you could say they're... "new". You see, in TT they portray Raven as the "Wizardess"-type character, and that always made me believe that perhaps she could do more than "hay, guys, Telekenesis!" Yeah, TK is cool and all, but I want her to do other things. If she's a Wizard, then there's seven schools of magic she's got to choose from (though she'll probably only use four or five).

6: On that note, I've expanded on everyone's abilities somewhat. Robin's got new moves, Beast Boy will have new forms (eventually), Starfire's... well, just going to become more powerful, Cyborg's going to... uh, something (this one's hard to, because, put simply, they don't use him enough in the show, and I'm trying to expand on this. Advice is welcome), and Raven's a big secret. Also, I'm giving everyone new equipment to fit something more awesome than just communicators and the T-Car/Ship/Sub/Kitchen Sink.

7: One more thing. I'm overhauling Raven and Robin's backstory to fit the frame of the story, for the most part. With Robin, it's mostly just a choice of which freaking one I want to use, and with Raven, since they don't divulge as much in the show as they do the comics, I'm going to suit the show's version to my own, and expand on what they showed us in the series. For that matter, everyone's going to get expanded on (Hello? Where's Starfire's brother?)

[Glensather]

“So did anyone else have some freaky dreams last night?” Beast Boy asked as he walked into the main room of the Tower the next morning. He was the last to shower and dress, as usual – by contrast, Cyborg was up by 5 and running early shift patrols - but he noticed that Robin and Starfire looked as tired as he normally felt in the morning. Upon the word “dream”, Robin gave a visible shudder and Starfire sank a bit into herself. Beast Boy and Raven exchanged glances before nodding to each other. The two walked to their friends; Raven to Robin and Beast Boy to Starfire.

Raven started. “Hey, bird-brain,” she muttered. “You alright?” Robin shivered.
“Fangs…” he whispered. “Red eyes… blood…” he looked at her with bloodshot eyes; tired, frightened eyes. Whatever he dreamt scared even Robin, meaning it had to have been terrifying to most. Looking at her, he managed a half-grin. “What do you know about monsters that smell like fire and brimstone, Raven?”

There was a pause as Raven gathered her thoughts. Meanwhile, Beast Boy was having similar luck with Starfire.

“What’s wrong, Star?” he asked her, putting a concerned hand on her shoulder. The alien girl stared at the boy, who smiled the best he could. “Hey, I can tell you had a bad dream, so why don’t you tell me about it?” Starfire nodded, and told the rest about her vision of a burning city, with monsters fighting each other. Robin followed with his tale aboard the train, and both Raven and Beast Boy listened intently. Looking at the shifter, the three listened to his tale of the pianist that morphed into a monster.

As he finished, the three looked at Raven, who paused to think.

“I think it was a Nalfeshnee that Robin and Beast Boy saw, but I’ll need a text.” She concentrated her focus, and soon a large, heavy tome floated in the room clad in black obsidian energy. Raven clasped the book and set it on the table in front of the couch. As the others gathered around her curiously, she briefly glanced at them. “This is a book known in Azarath as a Book of Daemon, a weakened version of the artifact known as the Book of Vile Darkness. If someone with little will or self-control was to use this book,” she glanced at Beast Boy, who started to protest but fell silent quickly upon Robin’s glare. “Then terrible havoc could be wrought upon the world… and if you had the true book, you could destroy it,” she paused and started to flip through the pages. Words and pictures flashed by as Raven’s hands deftly moved the pages, the words written in another language that only the girl knew. “I believe that what you saw was… this!”

Stopping her motions precisely on the page she wanted, she gestured toward a drawing. Robin and Beast Boy jerked simultaneously in an odd mockery of each other as their eyes lay on the image. “That’s him!” Robin said, almost too loudly for the closeness of the group. “Just… wow, this version is huge,”

“Indeed,” Raven said. “What you saw in your dream was probably a figment or glamer, an illusion he used against you to unnerve you…” she paused.

“So he… what, cast a spell on us?” Beast Boy asked, slightly unnerved.
“More or less,” replied the sorceress. “Nalfeshnee in general use their powers to unnerve their enemy before they send their unit to attack. They usually see fighting as beneath them,” she paused, rereading a line of text a few times, and almost jumped back in fear.

“What? What is it?” Starfire asked. Raven composed herself and sat up.
“It says here that in order to use its abilities, the demon must have access to this plane, and have access to minions within a certain distance, that have line of sight to the general location of its target,” she looked up. “Not only were you all attacked by a figment of the demon, but one that has allies on this world,” she stood up.

“What about my vision?” Asked Starfire.
“More than likely another illusion on the demon’s part,” Raven replied, sending the book back to her room. She looked at the others. “This is bad,”

“I guessed that,” Robin said. “But how will we fight it, Raven?”
“Demons don’t normally go wandering about the Material Plane – that’s our plane of existence,” she paused. “’Dimension’, if you will,” she looked out to the city. “Those things can’t just hide themselves, either; if it’s already here, it’d be easy to spot. Nalfeshnee are almost 20 feet tall and weigh something like 4 tons. It’s out there in the city, more than likely flying in the clouds,”

“Wait, something that big can fly?” Beast Boy asked, his growing apprehension unhidden.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Raven replied, looking up toward the sky now. “And it’s here, on this world… the Herald of the Blood War,” she paused, and looked at the others. “There’s something I have to tell you guys,” as she opened her mouth to speak, however, the general alarm went off. The signal on the TV was quickly intercepted by Cyborg’s face.

“Guys, we’ve got trouble!” he said quickly, glancing upward before looking back at the screen. “We’ve got little monsters running around like they own Downtown!”

“How many?” Robin asked, broken out of his nervous revere and once again in his leader mode – so quickly, in fact, that it caused Beast Boy to do a double-take. Robin’s eyes narrowed and focused, becoming like slits under his mask.

“At least 12,” Cyborg replied. “They’re fast, so it’s hard for me to get a lock on them,” he paused for a moment before continuing. “Make that at least 15… you guys better get down here quick!” with that, he shut off the feed. Raven and the others looked at each other, a permeable tension within the air… and a certain bit of excitement. Our first real mission in months. Robin thought. It’s time to get up out of this stupor… he grinned.

“You heard the man,” he said to the others; his fear from the night before had long ago fled, and only the classic, stalwart leader of the titans remained. “Cyborg needs our help; let’s not fail him now,”

Beast Boy stretched. “About time we got some play around here; I’ve been getting bored in my old age,” he smirked. “I’m ready,” To his left, Starfire rested a hand on her hip, and ignited a bolt in her free hand.

“Yes, it is time to once again prove our mettle,” she said. “I am ready to fight something tougher than a common thug,” Behind them, Raven only nodded assent to Robin, already turning to step out to the roof and fly straight toward Cyborg’s destination. Despite this, Robin still felt an old surge of bemusement as he called out their rallying cry.

“Titans, go!”

-

The tower exploded into motion as three beings left from it in a hurry.

Assembling at the rooftop, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Robin checked their gear before getting ready to take flight.

“Where’s Raven?” the Tamaran girl asked, looking around for her friend. Robin shook his head and turned to look at the city. His armband computer had marked Cyborg’s location, and he felt the itch for a fight come on as he memorized it.

“She’ll follow us when she’s done here,” he replied, locking his glider wings into place. He looked over his shoulder and nodded to the two there. “She’ll catch up, don’t worry; let’s go on ahead,” Nodding, Beast Boy and Starfire followed, running with Robin to the edge of the Tower and leaping off the edge.

Robin’s glider wings caught the wind a split second before he began to fall, and his boot thrusters ignited. Starfire took flight instantly, keeping pace with the Boy Wonder easily. Beast Boy allowed himself to fall half the distance of the tower before twisting in midair, becoming a hawk and using his momentum to ride the wind faster than this form could normally go. He caught up with the other two, and together they flew on ahead.

Raven watched from her window before turning around and opening the wooden chest at her feet. Inside, a few items lay, which she had been using for the past few months – books, materials, even the holy symbol of Goddess Azar hung loosely from a cord connected to the top of the chest’s lid. She reached in and produced a small object, resembling a thin baton. It was about eight inches long, ¼ inch thick, made of a silvery metal and capped with a diamond on its end. Along the sides, runes written in an old language were etched into the metal. Raven pulled out a small attachment to her belt, resembling a holster made for the object, and slipped in inside it before attaching it to her belt.

Digging a bit deeper, Raven pulled out a long object, about forty-five inches long counting the handle on the end. Quickly, she tied the belt it was attached to around her torso, letting it rest comfortably on her back. Silently, the girl closed the chest and stood, adjusting her cloak in the process. Pulling it tightly about herself, she moved to the center of the room and clasped her hands tightly together, and began to chant.

“Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos…” Below her, a white-runed circle appeared, inlaid with a pentagram, and an outer band made of similar symbols that had been on the baton. As she continued her chant, she imagined her location in her mind’s eye, and imagined where Cyborg would be. They would be about halfway there, she thought quickly, remembering her friends already flying there.

She would beat them by thirty seconds.

With the final phrase, “Azarath, Metrion, Sylvanos, Expedios!” the white circle emitted a hot, bright light and flashed, partially blinding the girl as her entire body and soul was broken down into its material components and warped in a sliver of time so small it couldn’t be perceived. In six seconds, she had went from starting a spell to appearing sixty feet from her desired location - close enough to the battle that it wouldn’t be a problem, but something of a nuisance.

Looking back briefly, Raven noticed that her friends were still out of side. Ahead of her, she could make out the sounds of battle. Not wanting to waste any more energy, she broke into a light run, approaching the battle ahead. She saw the T-Car parked at a corner, its sonic cannon raised into a firing position and giving covering fire to who she assumed would be Cyborg. Sure enough, as she neared the fight, Cyborg’s massive form ran back around the car, the large man looking stonily at Raven before collapsing back against it. Cyborg grinned at her before taking in a couple of deep breaths.

As she caught up, Raven spoke. “Is it that bad?” she asked, her fingers already at work with the maneuvers ready to heal Cyborg of any life lost. Cyborg shook his head and started the recharge sequence on his weapons.

“Not bad,” he replied, taking another breath as Raven noticed that he wasn’t hurt; winded, yes, but he was unharmed. As her hands began to weave a different pattern, he continued. “I’ve taken out some of them, but the damn things are everywhere, I tell you,” he felt a surge on energy in his systems as Raven laid a hand on his chest, empowering him with some of her magic. “Thanks,”

“No problem,” said the girl. “How many do you think?” The T-Car resumed firing suddenly, its sonic cannons going off repeatedly. “And have they expanded anywhere?” Cyborg shook his head.

“Don’t know,” he answered with a frown. “But there are a lot of them, that’s for sure. They seem to be stuck on this city block, and on this street; they won’t go anywhere else; a few of them at a time start to draw this weird symbol on the ground, but I’ve been stopping them til now,” he jerked his head over to the side. “You want a whack at them?” Raven simply nodded while Cyborg stood up. “Then let’s go,”

Rounding the corner, Raven eyed the strange beasts before her. She distinctly recalled them as being called dretches; the lowest class of demon, and creatures she could defeat alone, with no need for the other Titans at all. She kept this to herself, however, as she marked three of them creating a sigil on the ground – a summoning circle, she knew – and began to chant. Cyborg, meanwhile, activated a sonic cannon and took aim at one of the monsters. The dretch seemed to notice this and charge him.

Cyborg cocked an eyebrow as the small creature scurried toward him. He had never really gotten a good look at one until now. They were tiny, bony things with tall ears and pointed noses. They smelled like blood and excrement, and their hunched over forms didn’t give them a height over 4 feet. Cyborg frowned at the monster and fired his weapon.

The blast cut through the air, slamming into the monster and causing it to shriek in agony. Cyborg grinned and stopped the blast short, but was surprised to see the monster leap back on its feet and come back at him. Annoyed, Cyborg lifted his arm to fire again. But by the time he had raised his weapon, the monster had leaped into the air and was coming down on him, a hand protruding dangerous-looking claws. Cyborg easily sidestepped the pathetic attack, or rather took a step back and leaned against his car.

Raven, meanwhile, walked some fifteen feet ahead of Cyborg (unknown to him) and began to cast a spell she had been working on. Calling out her mantra of power, she twisted her hands into symbols before bringing them together, then violently spreading her arms. From up above, the swirling black shadows that marked her spells appeared, and from them fell large chunks of ice over the target area. Multiple Dretches broke and ran from their work, but a single dedicated one continued merrily. Raven noted with a quick glance that the circle was almost finished.

If that dretch wasn’t stopped, whatever was coming through that summoning circle would be here before the others would arrive. Raven looked at Cyborg, who was engaged with five or six of the monsters as they surrounded him. Keeping his back to the car, Cyborg was point-blank with the beasts that were near him. A hissing noise behind Raven caused her to turn around and bring her face-to-face with six of the dretches herself.

This is not good. She thought wryly. The monsters were too close; if she started to cast a spell, they could take hold of the moment and flank her before ripping her to shreds. However, if she did nothing, that circle would be finished, and the demon that was waiting on its minions would get through. Frowning, Raven considered her options. As she lowered her hands, her left one brushed against the baton she had equipped earlier. Almost smacking herself for her forgetfulness, the girl quickly leaped back a few feet and produced the object. Spinning it once, she pointed it at the circle-maker and tapped it against the air once. A red beam of light shot from the tip of the wand, striking the creature dead-on, setting the monster on fire. The creature screamed, but continued working, even as its own skin melted away.

This gave the monsters the opportunity they wanted. They all struck at the girl, tearing with their claws and biting with their fangs, but Raven quickly backed up and dodged out of the way, jumping into a roll as the monsters pounced the spot she had been standing at just a second earlier. In mid-roll, she unclasped her cloak, letting it slowly fall to the ground as she came out of the roll and grabbed the flowing garment, rapidly twisting it about her right arm, yet letting it hang a little. She took a breath and watched the monsters as they attempted to reorganize themselves.

Cyborg mentally commanded his metallic body to form another sonic cannon as he leaned back against the car. The weapon appeared in place of his left arm, allowing him to aim at two separate creatures. He aimed for but a second before firing his weapons at full-blast, both beams aimed at separate yet adjacent creatures. The first beam – aimed at the one he had hit earlier – vaporized the creature on the spot, while the second sent another small demon flying backward, past the one drawing the summoning circle and sending it rolling lifelessly along the ground. Behind him, the T-Car fired a blast of its own, taking another a third dretch as it raised its claws to strike.

Raven chanted again words of power as she moved backwards, her mantra flowing through the air. As one of the dretches neared her for another attack, she pointed at a nearby telephone pole. Obsidian energy surrounded the object before wrenching it out of the ground. With a thought, she hurled it down the road, forcing it to barrel over 4 creatures that didn’t even have a chance to move out of the way, including the one drawing the circle. The demons were sent flying, along with the telephone pole, before it crushed them against a skyscraper.

The mage didn’t have time to admire her handiwork, as a thriving mass of six dretches once again assaulted her. Three of the creatures, so intent on killing the girl, used the other three as leverage, leaping over them and onto her. They slashed wildly at her barely covered skin, causing deep cuts across her face and arms. Raven attempted to not scream in pain as she shook the things off, fighting them off with her arms even as they bit into them with large fangs. Ignoring the cuts and bites on her body, Raven took the chance to hurl her cloak at the tiny demons, covering them up with it as the object seemed to take on a life of its own, tightening its grip around them.

“Raven, heads up!” Cyborg shouted. Glancing instinctively, she noticed with increasing despair that the monsters that had been attacking her ally ran off and had completed the circle, using the blood of their dead to finish the inscription. Shouting a denial at the top of her lungs, Raven ran at the monsters, but inside knew that it was too late, and whatever horrible beast that wanted to come from the “other side” was well on its way. In frustration, the girl skidded to a halt and lifted her hands into the air, conjuring five black orbs of energy and hurling them at the demons. The monsters didn’t have a chance to lift a finger as they were blasted backwards from their victory dance.

“What’s going to happen now?!” Cyborg yelled, aiming both cannons at the writhing cloak, ready to fire if the monsters came out.

“Now,” Raven growled, her body tensing at her friend’s voice. “We get ready to fight something much bigger than ourselves… literally,” Clenching her fists in air, Raven abruptly turned, standing sideways to the cloak she had thrown over the dretches. Holding her hands just a few inches apart, the girl curved her fingers inward, as if she were holding a ball. She chanted her words of power, and a ball of crackling, black, electric energy formed in her hands. She readied herself, then hurled it at the cloak. The ball of electricity slammed home, and the dretches, along with the cloak, were fried instantly. Cyborg’s sensors took backlash damage and compensated, and even Raven herself felt the heat of the blast as it faded.

Static electricity permeated the air as Raven walked slowly toward her ally, looking back sullenly over her shoulder as the magic circle had begun to pulsate. At this point, any attempts to alter the circle would fail; the inscription was on the very lips of the Earth now, and whatever was coming out was going to take its time, or lack thereof, depending. Raven leaned against the T-Car and took a breath, feeling only faintly now the sting of the dretches’ claws on her face and arms. Cyborg looked at her, daring himself to ask a question, but dropped it when a crackling on their communicators reminded them that there were others to fight alongside.

“Raven, Cyborg, come in,” Robin’s voice said. Raven unlocked the display on her wristband while Cyborg simply brought up his own from his “natural” arm, both nodding to their leader.

“We’re here, Rob,” Cyborg confirmed. “Had a bit of a scrape, but we’re okay,” Robin’s helmeted head nodded.

“Good to hear that…” replied their leader. “We’ll be there in about fifteen seconds… Raven, what happened to your face?”

“Nothing,” Raven said, glowering. “Just get here, okay? We’ll need everyone for this,”
“What’s going on?” Robin asked. To this, Raven paused.

“…We’re about to face some of our fears,” she finally said. Looking at the pulsing circle, she nodded to herself. “Yes… our fears…”

To Be Continued

[Glensather]

Well, someone's reading this, so I'll continue posting, just for you few, you happy few, who continue to read this :) .

“Raven, Cyborg, come in,” Robin’s voice said, his voice tense. Raven unlocked the display on her wristband while Cyborg simply brought up his own from his “natural” arm, both nodding to their leader.

“We’re here, Rob,” Cyborg confirmed, glancing briefly over at Raven. “Had a bit of a scrape, but we’re okay,” Robin’s helmeted head nodded.

“Good to hear that…” replied their leader. “We’ll be there in about fifteen seconds… Raven, what happened to your face?”

“Nothing,” Raven said, glowering and looking away. Across her face, four bloody scratches went lengthwise across her face, and more went along her arms. “Just get here, okay? We’ll need everyone for this,”

“What’s going on?” Robin asked. To this, Raven paused, her violet eyes showing pause.

“…We’re about to face some of our fears,” she finally said. Looking at the pulsing circle, she nodded to herself. “Yes… our fears…”

-

Teen Titans: The Blood War

Episode: 01 – Facing Fear

-

Robin stood in front of his Titans, his back to them as he stared uncertainly at the Magic Circle that took up the middle of the road. The circle pulsed with unholy power, and it seemed to force the area around it to become darker with its dark energies. All of them could feel the strong pull of the unholy energy as it radiated, and a palpable feeling of fear seemed to come from the five heroes.

“So…” Beast Boy began uneasily. “Our fears… huh?” Raven nodded, her hands hanging loosely at her sides. She looked at the circle dispassionately, but deep down she was more terrified than the rest; she knew what lay on the other side of that portal, and that frightened her greatly. Taking a calming breath, she looked at the shapeshifter.

“Not literally,” she told him. “The monster that plagued your nightmare and Star’s vision… that monster will come through that portal, I know it,” At this, Beast Boy visibly tensed.

“So that thing… really does exist?” he asked her. “That horrible thing?” Shaken now, Beast Boy resisted falling to his knees. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” looking at Starfire, he had an almost pleading look in his eyes. “Please tell me she’s joking,”

“I don’t think she is,” Starfire said. Her normally joyous voice had been stripped from her, and the change to an almost dispassionate, calm one unnerved her friend more than Raven’s affirmation of the creature did. “Indeed, we must be prepared to fight…” Looking down sullenly, Starfire seemed almost sad. “I see here the death of small creatures… did you kill, Cyborg?” Looking up at the tall android, Starfire’s sullen look had turned into a sad one. “Despite these things being hostile… did you really take their lives?”

Taken off-guard by Starfire’s question, Cyborg merely stared at the girl. It suddenly hit him, though, as he looked into her questioning eyes. The Titans, heroes like they were, had never actually killed something. They had defeated, banished, arrested, captured, and evicted a multitude of thing, but never before had they killed something. Indeed, the closest thing the group had ever come to killing was taking out robot minions. Realization dawned on Cyborg as he pondered the question, knowing the truth but denying it to himself, despite the bodies strewn about.

“Starfire, I…” he began, but instead a pale arm touched his, and looking down, he saw Raven staring at the alien girl.

“No… I did,” she told the girl. “I know what these things are, and I know that they must die,” Looking up at Cyborg, she nodded to him, who only stared back. Facing the young warrior again, Raven continued. “These things are evil, like my father… and like him, they will not stop until the world is destroyed,” reaching forward abruptly, Raven grabbed Starfire by the air and pointed down the street, toward the circle as it started sucking the very light out of the air. As it turned dark, she looked into Starfire’s green eyes. “Do you see that?”

“Y-yes,” Starfire replied, looking at the inscription on the ground. “I see it,” her apprehension and fear grew – both of Raven and of what was coming.

“Something much more terrible than these things are coming through that,” Raven told Starfire. “It’s up to us to destroy it, Star… we’ll have to kill it in order to preserve and save the Earth once again… can you do that?” Her eyes had turned into a glare. “Starfire, listen!”


“I am!” Shouted back the alien. “I just…” she narrowed her eyes and looked away from her “sister.” “I don’t think I could kill another living thing, no matter how evil…”

“Damnit, Starfire!” Raven yelled at her. “You’re not listening! We have to kill the demon coming through that!”

“But why? Why do we have to?” Starfire yelled back. Robin and Cyborg moved to intercept the fight when suddenly the air around them all turned black as night. Pausing, the others all abruptly went silent. It was as if they had suddenly fallen into a room; they could all hear each other’s breathing, but at the absence of everything else; the wind, the distant cars, the ocean, all was gone. Only the Titans, the darkness, and the pulsing circle as it suddenly began to expand.

“Titans, run!” Robin shouted, his voice unnaturally loud. Instantly, the five broke away, running from the circle as it expanded. Cyborg felt his connection to the T-Car suddenly severed, but his infrared wouldn’t allow him to see what had happened to it; here, the darkness swallowed all forms of visibility. And yet, something was leading them…. At least, so Cyborg thought.

Robin and the others felt it too. There was almost a tangible pull toward the direction they all ran. Even as their steps echoed off invisible walls, their breathing so audible they could hear each others, and though the darkness was so black it was impossible to see through, there was a definite something leading them. Robin narrowed his eyes and tried piercing the darkness, as did all the others, but they couldn’t see it. But when two pinpoints of violet flame turned around to see how the others were faring, Robin grasped it immediately. Raven, in her own way, had managed to take the lead – out of initiative or fear, or both – and was helping them through the darkness. Robin realized that the group had been turning, moving; the magic circle was no longer visible, though its energy could still be felt. They had turned at least three times, Robin guessed, but he wasn’t entirely sure.

“Raven, what’s going on?” he heard Beast Boy say. The young shapechanger was the most panicked out of the group, but he wasn’t going to show it; well, not that he could, in the darkness.

“Magical darkness,” Raven replied. Briefly, the group saw her twin violet lights look at them before looking back ahead. “Whatever’s coming is probably through the portal, and now its using this to create fear within us. Demons of this sort don’t fight fair,” there was a pause. “I have an idea… everyone, stop,” The sound of five pairs of feet running died down until it stopped. “Okay, everyone… close your eyes for a minute, or this might hurt,” The others complied; waiting for whatever it was that Raven was going to do. They heard her chanting her words of power, but otherwise, all was silent.

“Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos, Luminas!” Robin and the others squinted as suddenly a bright flash of white erupted through their eyelids and optical sensors, and all of them quickly covered their eyes with their arms, blocking out the radiance as it filled the area rapidly. A burst of heat washed over the five Titans, dying down quickly along with the burst of light. Their eyes adjusted, and when the Titans opened their eyes, they found that both the light and the darkness had disappeared, leaving only normal sunlight filtering through the clouds and atmosphere. The Titans, minus Raven, looked around, confused at first.

“What was that light?” Starfire asked. “Did you do that, Raven? Did you make the darkness disappear?” The alien girl locked eyes briefly with her ally before looking away suddenly, their earlier conversation still on her mind.

“It’s nothing more than a basic enchantment,” Raven explained, looking back toward from where they had run from. “Light counters and dispels darkness, at least magically,” she looked at Robin. “We can now fight on more even terms with the demon,”

“Speaking of which, where is it?” Cyborg said, running a search to find both his car and their enemy. “It’s not coming up on any scopes,”

“You won’t find it that way,” Raven told him, looking around more apprehensively. “It conceals its presence through magic, similar to what I use; only other natural or magical means can detect the demon, not technological,” she paused, then as an afterthought, added, “Your weapons can still harm it, though,”

“Oh, that’s nice to know,” Cyborg said half-heartedly. “Well I guess as long as I can still fight, it’ll be okay,”

“Something like that,” Raven muttered, now fully intent on staring into the sky. Her eyes squinted. “Well, I guess I was wrong, then...”

“What’s that?” Robin asked, walking up next to her. “What is it, Raven?” Turning, the mage looked at him with her scarred face.

“It’s here…”

“WHAT?!”

As the echo of surprise echoed off the skyscrapers, it fell. Slamming into the concrete at an impossible speed for its size, the five Titans beheld a terrible sight. They beheld in front of them their most recent fear, personified, in a hole in the ground.

Its hunched over form resembled a cross between an ape and a boar. It had a gorilla’s body, huge and muscular, wearing a strange metallic armor that gleamed in the light. Two tiny, almost comical, wings sprouted from its back. It had a hog’s head, with a snout nose and two huge tusks. The monster smelled of fire and brimstone, and around it the air crackled with static electricity. Its body was facing the Titans as it snorted, standing up to its full height. It opened a pair of amber eyes, and as it stared down at the Titans from its impossible height, they all knew that this was the demon seen in their nightmares

The creature snapped its red fingers, and red lights danced around it briefly.

“So, you are those whom I’ve been ordered to kill?” it asked, its voice deep and slow. “Well, not much to look at, are we, little children?”

“Who sent you?” Raven shouted? “Answer me, Tanar’ri!” The demon paused its musings to stare down at the girl. It soon grinned a toothy grin.

“Ah,” it rasped. “One who knows my true kind? Allow me to answer that in my own language, then…” it clicked its tongue before saying, “Kk’rach sklak sso’k Graz’zt-chal,” Its grin widened to an extreme level as it watched Raven’s eyes widen.

“Grazz’t?” she whispered. “You mean-” she didn’t finish, though, as suddenly the dancing red lights burst, and a wave of energy washed over the area. There was a unison of screams around the area as the minds of anyone, including the Titans, were assaulted with their worst fears. A piercing echo, like that of a screech, conjured up their nightmares and visions, and used them against themselves.

Robin was affected first, as he remembered suddenly his worst fear, and his most painful memories, all at once. He remembered a night long ago, and in that memory he saw his beloved family. Suddenly, though, it was him that was falling, and his parents were watching from below. He heard their screams, his scream, all at once. He then realized that he was screaming clutching his head in pain and letting out an awful, angry/sad scream that brought him to his knees. Through blurred vision, he saw the others, minus Raven, do the same thing. However, even the girl he watched standing still wavered, looking back toward them with half-squinted eyes.

“This is the demon’s… special ability,” she managed to say, her own fear evident in her voice. “You must fight it, fight it with your own memories that prevented you from fearing, or that eliminated your fear of that memory. You must-” she was cut short, suddenly, as her own current fear was realized. With two massive arms, the demon picked up the girl with barely any effort. It snorted, sending hot air toward her and blowing the girl’s hair back. Raven grimaced, but her own fears overrode her urge to survive.

Behind her, Robin used her advice. He remembered something from that night. He remembered the thing that saved him, a dark knight that came from the shadows. He captured that memory, and used it to fight off his fears. He wanted to become that knight, to be fearless so he could fight this enemy. So he used that desire, and used it to fight off his own fear. He felt his heart harden, go cold, but not dispassionate. He turned that into courage, and warded his heart and his mind against his fear. Slowly, he let go of his head and stood shakily on his own two feet. His cape draped about himself, Robin looked up at the Nalfeshnee, which was eagerly eyeing Raven.

“You… you have the scent of the fiends,” it growled. “Yes… the smell of a dark one…” it grinned its toothy grin. “You are of my ilk, aren’t you?” It hissed/growled at Raven, who found in the demon’s words a dark echo of her own fears. She took that fear and amplified it into anger, then eliminated it from her own mind with a quick thought. Looking up into the demon’s eyes, she emitted a low growl that resembled the very monster that held her in its hands. She heard Robin distantly shouting for her, but she ignored it.

“No…” she whispered. “I am not like you,” her eyes flared gray. “I am not tanar’ri,” a violet edge twisted the gray briefly, before it disappeared. As Raven’s eyes narrowed into slits, she spoke. “Ik al baatezu!” To this, the demon’s eyes widened briefly, and his grip loosened slightly, giving Raven her chance. “Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!” With a push on all sides, an obsidian field of energy encompassed her being, spreading all in all directions and breaking the demon’s hands from her body. Raven spun about in the sphere of energy, and it fell ten feet to the ground. The impact destroyed the sphere with a shatter, but Raven was unhurt, and still standing. She walked over next to Robin, with the others recovering behind them. “Robin, we must banish or kill this monster… can you do that?”

“…” Robin was silent briefly, looking at the demon as it roared a cry at the Titans. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” he glanced at the others, who were still recovering. “Handle them, I’ll stall the beast. Go!” Robin thus ran for the demon, drawing his Bo staff in a single move and leaping into the air. He slammed downward with the staff into the demon’s chest before falling and catching himself with the staff, using it as a pole-vault and landing five feet away from the monster.

The demon recoiled, not expecting such a mighty slam with a simple weapon. He backed up a few steps before howling with rage. It acted as if it was going to attack, but instead chose to spread its arms wide, howling something in its native tongue. A gloom fell over the demon, a noticeable aura of evil that seemed to emit from the creature. It spread its arms to its sides before dropping them, clawed arms hovering over Robin menacingly.

Raven had succeeded in getting Cyborg and Starfire out of their stupor, but was having trouble with Beast Boy. She held the boy’s head in her lap as he screamed, her scarred face twisted into confusion as she thought of a way to fix him. Looking up at the others, she told them, simply, “Go, help Robin!” before chanting, holding a hand out over the shapeshifter. Her body glowed with gray obsidian energy, and a beam of light pulsated from her hand to the boy. She needed him at full strength for this fight, she believed.

Starfire and Cyborg, meanwhile, charged into the fight. The alien charged her inner energy in flight, stopping short of the demon that had attacked them. She took in the scene briefly, and seeing the demon, ready to attack Robin, filled her with righteous fury. With a scream, she cut loose her focus and energy, focusing it into eyes and firing a lance of pure energy at the monster. At the same time, Cyborg fired two of his Sonic Cannons, set to full blast. The beams of energy coalesced together, forming a twisting green and blue ribbon that slammed full-force into the demon, forcing the monster to recoil backwards into a building.

However, as with demons, something unexpected occurred. Flying from the demon’s body came twin red beams of light that struck the two attackers. Starfire fell out of the sky and crashed into the ground, gasping for breath, while Cyborg felt his strength being sapped away by the beam of red light. Though Starfire managed to stand, she did on weak knees and almost fell over again. Taking a couple of breaths, the alien relaxed a bit and caught herself, standing and ready to fight. Cyborg looked a bit pale, but when Robin turned to look at them, he gave the Titan leader a thumbs-up.

Nodding, Robin again charged the demon as it attempted to recover. He ran up parallel to the monster as it stood back up. Before the demon could react, the Boy Wonder ran up the side of the skyscraper the demon had its back to, thrust his staff into the side of the building, used it as a pivot, and with a cry, came around and kicked the demon hard in the face, sending it flying backwards until it hit the ground. Before Robin could even start back toward the ground, another beam of unholy light struck out from the demon and hit Robin square in the chest. The Titan felt the beam pull at his strength, but Robin viciously guarded it, and the beam cut off. He blinked, slightly confused, before looking back down at the street toward Raven.

The girl stopped her chanting as she felt Beast Boy come out of his fear-induced coma. The boy blinked, confused, before looking at the girl who held him in her lap.

“R-raven?” he wondered blearily. “What happened?”
“We’re in a fight,” Raven explained calmly, shifting Beast Boy to a sitting position, looking up as the others assumed defensive positions. “No time to explain; are you going to fight?” Beast Boy nodded, holding his head in either pain or confusion. Looking up, he glanced with widening eyes as the demon came from around the corner of the skyscraper, charging and howling in rage. It gnashed its teeth and tried to gore Robin with its tusks. The Titan leader had no chance to dodge as the tusk sent him flying into the air, only to meet a clawed hand that raked across his suit, catching his cape and hurling him to the ground. Robin slammed down next to Starfire, who gasped with horror. Miraculously, though, Robin stood up shakily, holding his bleeding arm. His left eye was rapidly swelling shut under his mask, and blood trickled from a corner of his mouth.

“I’m… alright,” he said. “I… can still fight,” He tried to smile at Starfire, but the girl only looked sad. Looking up at the demon, Starfire’s eyes glowed with emerald energy. Lifting into the air, Starfire screamed an alien curse at the demon. Breathing heavily with anger, Starfire summoned her bolts of energy and hurled them at the demon. Four Starbolts flung through the air, slamming against the monster’s body with the force of the very suns. Staggered, the demon stepped back, anger evident in its eyes as it focused entirely on Starfire briefly.

“So, it seems I cannot win alone,” it growled. Looking down at Cyborg, it smiled. “I will have to call my friends,”

“Friends?” Cyborg wondered, but put the thought from his mind. “We won’t give you the chance!” he shouted, charging the demon with a fist held to strike. He leaped into the air and gave the monster a mighty uppercut, so powerful that it sounded as if a sonic boom echoed through the street. The demon’s head snapped backward with an audible crack, but instead of falling over and dying, the demon simply cracked its neck and grinned its maw at Cyborg.

“Too late,” it growled. “They’re here,”

[Glensather]

“Too late,” it growled. “They’re here,”

As he spoke his last word, two demons appeared from the magic circle, flying overhead briefly before locking onto their summoner. With a screech, they flew over and landed on the demon’s shoulders.

The demons looked like a cross between a vulture and a man. They had a man’s face, but with a long, pointed nose, and covered by a blue/purple chitin shell across their bodies. Torn, bloody feathers formed their wings, which fluttered in the wind almost delicately. On their hands and feet, long claws hung loosely, sharp and deadly as swords. The monsters screeched at each other, but their master calmed them, pointing at the Titans… in the distance. The other three stared as suddenly the smaller two demons were in the air and charging Raven and Beast Boy, who had in the meantime stood and were running toward the fight.

Raven saw them first, and immediately identified the kind of monster that was charging them. They were called vrocks – the elite bodyguards of demons. Their piercing cry alone could stun armies, and their bodies released painful spores that, if untreated, would kill a man in a minute. Stopping in her tracks, Raven held her hands inches apart and, without a word, conjured a black ball of energy. Staring up at one vrock, Raven locked eyes with it before hurling the obsidian blast at the demon. The blast struck true, but the vrock held its hands up and dispersed the blast across its body, screeching with annoyance as it flew ahead of its ally.

But it wasn’t prepared for Beast Boy. In one fluid movement, the youngest of the Titans had went from running along his ally to leaping in the air, turning into a pterodactyl and hurling himself at the vrock. The two met with a furious body blow, talons raking viciously. Beast Boy got the upper hand, however, and as the two tumbled to the ground, it was the flying demon that was the cushion for the landing, not the Titan.

The others were having their own problems with the largest demon as this went on. Robin attacked the demon with only his martial arts. He leaped into the air and drove a kick into the demon’s chest, sending it reeling… and another red blast of energy at Robin. This time, the attack was so sudden that the Boy Wonder couldn’t react quickly enough. He groaned and fell to his knees in pain as his strength was sapped away. Looking up, however, he could see that the Nalfeshnee was also on its last legs. Blood had erupted from several small wounds, and a few particularly large ones from sonic and energy blasts, along with impact fractures, were evident everywhere.

“Give up,” Robin shouted as he got back up. “You… you can’t win… you’re weaker than us, and you know it!”

“I’ll give up,” the demon said. “When you spread my blood across this entire street!” And with that, the nalfeshnee succumbed fully to bloodlust, and attacked Robin with everything he had. Robin took up a defensive stance, but even as he tried to block the demon’s claws, it reached down with its gaping maw and crushed the boy beneath its teeth. Robin screamed in pain as the monster shook its head like a dog before letting go and coming down with a claw, slashing across the Titan’s back before a second claw came up and slashed the opposite direction. A final claw came down and raked down Robin’s body, sending him into the ground once again.

This time, Robin didn’t move.

The demon grinned, its red eyes seeking its next target.

However, as it laid eyes on the Tamaranian girl known as Starfire, it knew it was in for trouble. A green aura of energy surrounded the girl, putting out heat and causing Cyborg’s IR scanner to overheat. Starfire’s eyes were filled with Robin’s unconscious, bloody form, as it lay in front of her. Two tears streamed down her face as the girl’s body shook – with pain or anger, it was impossible to tell. Starfire looked up at the demon, into its eyes, as hers glowed with their emerald energy, and as the tears traced their way down her chin.

“…Why?” she asked it simply. The demon almost felt remorse as it looked at the alien girl it knew would kill her, but knew instead that it could derive one last bit of enjoyment, even as its death approached.

“To see you suffer,” it said in a low growl. It smiled as it saw the girl’s eyes widen, and their energy flicker, and as green tears trailed down her face. In a way, it knew it had won.

It knew about the Titans and their adventures. It knew that they had never killed a soul. It knew that in a way, that made Starfire innocent to death. It smiled at the thought of the girl, about to lose her innocence forever. “Come, kill me,”

Far from this, Beast Boy and Raven found themselves locked in a deadly fight. Beast Boy immediately morphed into a velociraptor, but Raven held up a hand.

“Go, help the others,” she said, her back to him. “I’ll handle this,” Beast Boy paused, unsure. “Go!” Without another thought, Beast Boy immediately ran toward the other fight, leaving Raven alone with the two Vrocks. The two beasts screeched at Raven, trying to stun them with their piercing cry, but the sounds rolled over the girl like water. Instead, the mage stared hard into the eyes of the stronger vrock, and said to it a single phrase.

“Now you will see what I’m made of,” was what she said as she chanted. “Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos, Tensas, Mutas, Baatoras!” Holding out a hand and grasping the handle of the object on her back, the hissing vrocks backed up slightly as Raven’s eyes glowed with gray energy before fading into violet quickly. This violet then changed through the color spectrum before Raven blinked… and when she opened her eyes, there were not two, but four glowing red eyes that glared at the demons. The girl twitched as a tearing sound emitted from her, and she growled/screamed as suddenly four bat wings, twice as big as the girl, erupted from her back, quickly growing muscle and flesh as they did so. She almost screamed in pain, but kept her cool and instead placed her hand on her side.

Remembering a phrase she heard Robin say long ago, Raven grinned, fangs showing on her canines.

“…Bring it.”

With that, she coiled herself before leaping into the air. The vrocks hissed at each other before giving rapid chase, hot on her heels.

And as Beast Boy closed in on the eyes, we witnessed the Death of Innocence.

Starfire cried emerald tears as she lifted herself in the air. Her body shook with emotion as she stared her crying jade eyes at the grinning Nalfeshnee. Below her, Cyborg watched both her and the demon, and even Beast Boy as Starfire charged her entire energy reserve. Uncertain, Cyborg armed two Sonic Cannons; one at the demon, one at his ally. He watched as Starfire charged two Starbolts and pointed them at the dying demon, who only grinned mischievously. Cyborg knew that, somehow, the demon had won, just by looking at the monster’s grin. It was one that practically screamed, “I have won,” and Cyborg knew that deep down, this wasn’t the first victory.

Starfire screamed in pain and rage, and fired everything she had at the demon. She emptied her entire reserve of energy into one massive, four-cannon blast that erupted from her hands and her eyes. The beams converged, forming one single beam of emerald energy that spilled over the demon. The creature didn’t scream, cry, or even bleed; so hot was the blast that it vaporized the Nalfeshnee’s very blood. Starfire continued to scream as her blast tore a hold through the demon’s body, erupting a line from its chest to its lower back, which widened as the Tamaranian continued pushing the blast deeper and harder. The demon didn’t laugh or scream as its last life force was snuffed out, as the star beam melted its heart. Instead, it just smiled a sick smile, as its eyes rolled into the back of its head, and it fell more into the blast. Its grinning head was melted and eliminated by Starfire’s attack, as was much of its upper body. Soon after, the blast withered and died, and the exhausted alien sank to the ground.

Cyborg was at her side the moment she touched group and sank to her knees. Beast Boy morphed into a human and was at her side the moment she slowly lifted Robin’s head and placed it in her lap. Looking down so she couldn’t see what she had done, Starfire instead caressed the boy’s cheek lightly, and as her anger died down, her tears started once more. Starfire’s wracked sobs intensified as the weight of everything came crashing down on her at once, and, not daring to look up, she instead tried talking to the others.

“I…is it… is it gone?” she sobbed. “D….did we… did we win?” Bending down, Beast Boy put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Looking up at the rapidly disintegrating corpse of the demon, as it slowly spilled its remaining black blood on the ground, Beast Boy narrowed his eyes and looked down at the girl. A look of remorse crossed his face, and his heart sank as he looked at the girl, who started pulling Robin up onto her body, and was now holding him gently in her arms. Beast Boy almost walked away right then; Robin didn’t even look alive, but Starfire still held on to him as if he was the last thing on Earth. It was a tragic scene out of a movie.

And as far as Cyborg was concerned, it was probably only the beginning.

“Starfire, we…” Beast Boy began. We… we won? Lost? What happened here? Looking around, the Titan searched for an answer for his friend, but found that there was no easy answer. He didn’t know what they had done. And where was Raven? There was no answer. Looking at the crying girl, who asked him again if they had won, he found that there was nothing.

No answer…

No answer…

No answer…

“…Starfire?” a raspy voice asked. Looking down, the other three Titans found that Robin had opened his eyes, and was staring wearily at the others. “What… what’s going… on?” he looked up at Starfire, who only smiled and looked with tear-stained eyes, before she burst into tears again and tightly held on to Robin, who looked at the others, confused. He nodded to them, and for the two boys, it was all the confirmation they needed. They smiled at Robin, and from his slowly appearing smile, Beast Boy got the answer to the question Starfire had asked.

We survived…

Sighing, Beast Boy nodded back. Survived… it wasn’t a victory, but it wasn’t a defeat. They had been able to move on, and everyone was alive… well…

“I wonder where Raven is…” he wondered, but didn’t try to ruin the moment. Raven was notorious for walking off, so maybe this was no different. He looked to Robin for an answer, but he was already slipping back into sleep. His eyes had started closing again, and though he tried to return Starfire’s embrace, he found that the strength was simply not there anymore. Looking into the sky, Robin squinted, and thought for a minute that he saw a vulture. Squinting harder, Robin realized that this was no vulture he saw.

Though he was slipping, he thought he saw the arms and legs of a human, and four flapping wings, as the thing flew in a lazy circle. Robin could barely make out a sword-shaped object in the being’s left hand. It was then, Robin realized, that he must be looking at an Angel. He wanted to reach up toward the celestial being, but his arms wouldn’t move. He wondered for a second if this meant he was going to die, but knew deep down that the sun would rise tomorrow, and he would still be alive. He smiled at the Angel, and once again slipped away.

-

When Robin opened his eyes, only the sound of his own breathing greeted him. It was dark, quiet, deathlike, wherever he was. Robin tried to look around, but found that his neck was tied up in a cast which prevented it from moving more than a few degrees. Frowning, he tried shifting his body, but found that it too wasn’t going anywhere on its own free will. Annoyed, he struggled, eventually able to turn his body – with extreme pain and effort – onto its right side. He stared at a set of monitors that watched his condition, along with a few charts and graphs, and finally a clock on a small table that read 3:15.

“Three fifteen?” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “But when, where?”
“I can answer that,” said a voice, jerking Robin in complete surprise. Stopping himself from nearly falling out of his bed, he struggled to turn and look for the voice before it stepped in front of him. Bending down low, he saw a black hood and cloak, pale features, and violet hair and eyes that seemed to radiate in the dark and quickly identified the person to the leader of the Titans. Robin suppressed a gasp as he looked at the girl from his bed; her eyes had sunken somewhat, and various cuts and scrapes along her face, along with the long three-fingered slash scar that went across it, made her look worse for wear.

“Raven…” he muttered. “What’s going on? Why are you wearing black?”

“That’s not important right now,” assured the girl, reaching up with a hand and pushing Robin back flat on the bed. “I’ll just give you some information, then I’ll be on my way,”

“On your way? What do you mean?” replied the boy quietly. His voice had risen slightly, mounting confusion, but quickly cracked under the strain.

“I’ve got to… go somewhere,” said the girl cryptically. “But I’ll be back, I promise. Now,” she paused, looking for the way to speak her mind, but found none that wasn’t blunt. “Robin, you’ve been here for four days,” To that, Robin again almost fell out of the bed, but his own body’s protest to movement froze him in place. “Do you remember why?” Pausing, Robin blinked, and thought back.

“…yeah, yeah I do,” Robin replied, his voice straining with effort. “Did we win, Raven?”
“In a way,” said the girl. “But in that fight, I learned something that… well, it frightened me, Robin,” she paused, standing up and walking to a nearby window, one that looked out over the city in the bay. She paused, the full moon coming down on her as she looked, bouncing off her pale skin and violet eyes. “Robin… this is only the beginning of big things,” she looked at him. “My father, that demon… all of this was the beginning of something far bigger than you or I,”

“What do you mean?” Robin rasped, confused. “This is the beginning of what?” He managed to turn and look at Raven, who sighed and looked down. Robin was unsure of her emotion for a moment, looking at her, but it became evident that she wasn’t happy about this. She walked back over to him and sat down on the edge of the bed, her back to him, hunched over. Robin reached out with his closest hand and placed it on her arm, and the boy felt her cool fingers touch his own bandaged ones. “Tell me, Raven, it’s alright,”

“There’s something you must know of, something that will become important as time goes on,” she started. “I can’t explain it all to you right now, but I can give you the basics,” she paused before continuing. “There’s this war that’s been going on for eternity… well, two wars. One is called the Eternity War. That war is the one between God and Satan, pitting Angel against Devil in a fight in which no quarter is given or taken, and only the raw power of Heaven itself keeps the demons back. However, there is a second war that you don’t know about,”

“The Blood War,” Robin whispered. “You said something about it earlier, but never finished,”
“Yes, that war,” Raven spat. “The Blood War has been going on for almost as long as the Eternity War. It is a seething mass of a war, pitting Devils and Demons – two sides of evil – against each other. The Demons – Tanar’ri, as they’re called – come from the Infinite Abyss, and attack the devils by the hordes. The battlefield is constantly shifting, sometimes on Hell, or on a layer of the Abyss, or even on one of the planes in between,”

“For millennia, the generals of both wars have seeked out and tried to take over Heaven’s Pearl, Earth. They want to enslave humanity for their own ends, and up until now only Divine Intervention has been able to stop them, forming a sort of sheath around our planet, and our plane of existence in general. But as you saw, there are chinks in the armor, exploitable ones that can let loose foul beasts,” Raven turned, looking at Robin as she spoke. Her voice cracked with something like fear, and Robin’s own apprehension rose in turn. “I am one of those cracks in the armor, a mobile Gate to another world. Only through sheer force of will can I keep that Gate closed, but it is a fight I lose, every day of my life. There are other gates, however, to this planet and plane – other portals here, where either side can come in and bid for dominon,”

“The magic circle…” Robin whispered, understanding.
“Yes,” Raven confirmed. “Another weak point in the ley lines of the plane’s armor. I’ve since sealed that circle off, but there are others,” she looked out, at the moon and city of the bay. “Earth is only one planet, Robin… there’s a whole universe out there, and there’s a limitless number of planets that have fallen in with either side, or fight against them. However, none have so much value to Celestials as Earth, and so they seek to protect our world so much more than all the rest. If the universe should be taken by the Blood War, however, not even the entire host of Heaven could stop it from taking us from the Angel’s comparatively weak grasp,”

“That’s why I must go,” she told Robin. “I have to face my fear head on, and control something that came loose, four days ago, because I let it,” looking sadly at her long time friend and ally, Raven stood and approached him, leaning down close. “I need to find something that will help me… help us, and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, Robin. Also,” she half-grinned. “My family has racked up a few… favors, I can seek of people. After all, like I said, we’re not the only plane of existence,” she then did something unheard of.

Reaching out with both arms, Raven quietly grasped the boy into a quiet embrace. Laying her head on his shoulder, Raven sighed as she held the slightly shocked boy. Wrapping an arm about Raven’s waist, Robin stared into the girl’s eyes, which reflected like pools of violet water in the darkness. Slowly did Raven let go, as did Robin, but deep down Robin knew that the situation was bigger than even he could comprehend, despite the girl’s comforting look. Raven half-smiled at the boy before she turned and walked to the door.

“The others don’t know I’m here,” she said as loud as she dared. “To them, I’ve been missing for four days… so don’t tell them I was here, okay?” Robin nodded before jerking with a thought.

“Wait, wait!” he half-shouted. “Where are you going?” Tensing slightly, Raven turned and looked at the boy, a strange look on her face.

“Me?” she asked. “The space in between,” with that, the mage turned around and stalked out of the room, the door opening and shutting with only a hiss. It was then that Robin understood the look, and laid back down in his bed. Slowly placing a hand on his head, he looked to the familiar ceiling and grinned.

-

Stalking alone through the halls, Raven quickly opened and closed the door to her room. She gathered everything she would need on her journey quickly and tossed them on her bed. Opening her chest, she took everything out of it and also threw them on her bed, shutting it slowly so she wouldn’t arouse more noise than what she was already making. She then walked to her dresser and opened the bottom-right shelf, pulling out a leather pack and a small cloth bag. Tossing both on her bed, she finally walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out a hard, leather-bound tome, opened it, and also set it on her bed.

The girl reviewed everything she had. She had on her bed a bandolier of vials, each of varying color and shape but at the same time easily identifiable to anyone familiar with alchemy; the object she had earlier, a forty-five inch long Solarian Truesteel Longsword, a blade and the only weapon she had trained with in her life; the wand she had used earlier, still mostly full of charges and resting neatly in a leather holster; a large bag, filled with pockets and magically enchanted to be resistant to attack, which held all the material components for spells too expensive to normally cast; a second bag, a backpack which held necessary survival tools, along with other odds and ends Raven thought she might need; two bars of the purest mithril, which she needed as bartering tools; a bag magically enchanted to hold far more than its weight, and within rested a dragon’s hoard of platinum pieces – the most valuable currency in all the Planes; a plain staff, currently broken into three sections, which when assembled would transport her to where she was going; and finally, her spellbook, which held everything she knew about magic, and still had many blank pages left to fill.

Nodding to herself, Raven gathered all these, dropping her cloak to the floor briefly. Raven sheathed the blade on her back, then put on the backpack on top of the scabbard. She shouldered the material component bag, and attached her Bag of Holding onto her belt with a silver cord. Her wand rested on her hip, and the bandolier went across her chest and tied behind her. Seeing that she wouldn’t have anywhere to put her cloak, Raven frowned. Picking up the black object, Raven faced herself in the mirror and uttered a small cantrip. The cloak swirled in her hand, merging with her leotard, which in turn lengthened and stretched, become a full set of clothing on her body; violet and black robes, topped with a hood and cape on the back.

Satisfied with her appearance, Raven walked to the bed and picked up the three pieces of staff. Slowly, and saying a quiet cantrip every ten seconds, Raven assembled the staff to where a staircase that trailed from the bottom to the top of the staff was complete. Knowing that this was the correct version of the staff, Raven took it to the center of her room. Looking briefly at her robed self in the mirror, Raven sighed before tapping the staff against the ground.

“Sigil,” she called. In response, a tapping noise emitted from the staff, like someone walking up a staircase. On the staff itself, the stairs spun about, twisting around the staff rapidly, much like a snake. Gray light emitted from the staff before expanding outward, enveloping Raven and her belongings, as well as the staff itself. In a moment’s notice, bright grey light filled the room, then dispersed. In Raven’s place, only air was left.

-

When Robin opened his eyes the next morning, he found that he had been moved to a sitting position. Slightly confused, he tried moving to see what time it was. Before he could move, however, he felt something tighten around his body. Looking down the best he could, he saw the sleeping form of a young alien girl wearing a night gown, sleeping peacefully and yet holding onto Robin like her life depended on it. His confusion mounting on top of last night’s, Robin tried to shake the girl awake – or off him, whichever occurred first. Part of him of course enjoyed the feeling of the girl on him, but the rest of him was miffed; this wasn’t the time, and he wasn’t in the mood.

“Come on, Star,” he mumbled, trying to pry the girl off him. “Get off me,” he struggled to get free of the girl, but it was in vain. Sighing in defeat, Robin leaned back in his bed and stared at the girl, unsure of what to do with her. The hissing of a door opening and closing caught his attention, and as Robin struggled to get a good view, he saw a mop of green hair and skin, and knew who it was.

“You’re not getting her off of you until she wakes up,” Beast Boy told Robin. “Believe me, Cy and I have tried, more than once… and both of us, at that,” sitting in a chair he had brought in, the shapeshifter grinned wryly at Robin. “Besides, you should like it; you’re getting more play than me and Cyborg,”

”Very funny,” Cyborg’s voice said, and a second later it was followed by the android, looking tired but alert. “Tell you what, tonight we go to the club and see who gets more girls,”

“Yeah, assuming there’s not another outbreak,” Beast Boy deadpanned. Looking at Robin, he clapped his friend none to gently on the shoulder. “So how’s the fearless leader feeling?”

“Like he’s been hit by a truck,” Robin replied, a sudden twinge of pain causing his right arm to spasm. “Man, I feel terrible,”

“Well, you’ve been out for four days,” Cyborg explained. “Your legs are broken, left arm looks like you put it in a blender, right arm broken in three places, your spine was severed from the middle of your back, I’m surprised you can see out of your left eye, and there are enough claw marks to make someone think that you had a wild night or the yakuza attacked you with katana,” he paused. “Oh, and since me and Star are just now recovering from that magic blast the… the whatever it was did to us, I would guess that you’re at 10% strength of normal,” he crossed his arms. “No offense, man, but it sucks to be you,”

“Gee, thanks,” Robin muttered. “So what’s the bad news?”

“More attacks,” Beast Boy said, looking at Starfire and brushing her hair aside. “Cyborg and I have been fighting off these little midget-demons for the past four days. They come in groups of dozens, try to make a circle, and run off before we can get them all,” he sighed. “We don’t take Starfire anymore, even if we can get her detached from you…”

“Why’s that?” Robin asked, getting his free arm to place a hand on the alien girl’s head. “She looks fine to me,”

“Yeah, she looks it is right,” Cyborg replied. “But the first day after the big attack, Starfire didn’t even fire off a bolt… just stood there and looked dumb. Mumbled something in her old language, and…” Cyborg lifted his hands in an “I don’t know” motion. “She’s just not the same anymore,”

“I think,” Beast Boy began. “That it’s because she’s the one who killed that big demon,” he paused, searching, before sadly adding, “I mean… we’ve hurt, yes… but we’ve never killed, have we?”

“Terra’s a stone block…” Robin counted off. “Slade was reincarnated… no, other than the Joker, I don’t ever remember seeing a villain or bad guy or whatever actually killed… I mean, Slade was close, but at the time…”

“We didn’t even know, because he came back,” Cyborg finished. “Yeah, well, this demon was very dead. She blew a hole in it, man. Size of a crater, almost… and a lot stronger than anything me or Raven could have done,”

“I wonder where she is,” Beast Boy muttered. Robin opened his mouth to speak, but remembered Raven’s words, “Don’t tell them,” and shut it. Mistaken Robin’s look for confusion, Beast Boy added, “She’s been gone for at least as long as you’ve been out, man,”

“She probably has a good reason,” Robin assured Beast Boy… and himself. “Look, we need Raven more than anyone right now, and she knows that… she’ll be back, wherever she went,” looking down at Starfire the best he could, he added, “Well, the Titans are still three strong if I can convince Starfire to fight again… and when I get healed, we’ll be four strong,” he looked at Cyborg, who had resumed to leaning against the wall. “So how long?”

“I give you three weeks at best,” Cyborg told Robin. Before the leader could protest, Cyborg raised a hand. “No exceptions, Robin; you’re beat up badly, there’s no doubt about that. You need to rest and heal, and even with the nanodes I injected to heal you more quickly, you’ve got so many broken bones and nerve endings that even after you’re healed, it’ll take a while to fully get you back up to speed,” he gestured at the girl. “And I don’t think Starfire will be better until you are at least healed enough to walk, so I won’t be expecting her to fight,”

“So that means it’s up to us,” Beast Boy put in, grinning. “Cyborg and Beast Boy, the new Dynamic Duo,” he flashed a peace sign at Robin. “Just you watch, Robin; you won’t even know that there’s trouble in the city,” At this, Cyborg’s mechanical eye flashed red, and the largest of the Titans tensed up. He paused before looking at Beast Boy.

“Speaking of trouble, police radio just picked up another group of those things… this one’s lead by a vulture-guy… thing,” he shrugged. “Sounds like one of those things you fought when Robin got hit,”

“Aw, man, they’re starting early today,” Beast Boy muttered. “Looks like I’ll have to skip breakfast. Man, that sucks!” Groaning, Beast Boy stood up and stretched. Looking at Robin, he said, “Well, looks like you’re on your own with the girl,” he winked. “Don’t try anything, Rob. See ya!” He nodded at Cyborg, and together the two ran out of the medical ward. Robin regretfully watched them go, wishing he could go with them. Instead, though, he lay there, patting Starfire’s head gently. He looked at the door, then to the window.

…and wondered…

To Be Continued

-

All right, with this touch, the storyline has been firmly set, and I can begin the main two arcs of the story (despite the fact that they're named, both arcs happen coterminously, meaning that a little both both will usually be in each chapter).


The first Arc will be called The Primes, which concerned the Titans still on Earth as the Blood War slowly spills onto our world.


The second Arc will be called Four-Winged Devil. This arc is Raven's arc, and shows her growth and development as she acquires new powers and whatnot.


And come on, kids, review this :p . I can't become a better writer if people don't point out my flaws in writing, and I'd like to hear a little feedback (I don't care if it's "you suck" at this point, :p ). I'm not upset that people aren't responding - the hits alone tell me people are reading - but I'd like to know thoughts. If you don't have an account, e-mail me (it's in my profile).

[Glensather]

Had you been looking at it from any other direction, you would think it was just like any other city.

From high above, you would notice the traveling vehicles – horse-drawn carts, but vehicles nonetheless – heading down broad avenues, with pedestrians walking alongside the roads and acting as normal, everyday citizens. Buildings were on every street corner and down every road, with merchants selling their wares alongside roads that didn’t hold houses are elaborate complexes of other buildings. The city was easily dividable into rich and poor sectors, and law was as abundant as lawlessness in each of those places.

However, closer inspection would reveal that this was no normal city. On those cobblestone streets, not only did humans walk, but stout men with long beards, tall men with pointed ears, men with the lower halves of horses and deer, women with horns, tails, and pointed nails, and all manner of beast and man. The law looked nothing more than giant men in red armor, wielding great, hafted weapons of impossible length, held by massive arms that could easily throttle a cow. In strange places and times throughout the city, rifts in time and space opened and closed.

And, most of all was the city’s location. The city was built on the inner band of a gigantic ring that hovered at the tip of a great spire, jutting from the ground an infinite distance below, and yet seemed to hover within nothingness. This looked out over a gigantic, endless, plain, and all of it seemed grand yet insignificant at the time, even compared to the city. And it was at this city, known interchangeably as “The Cage”, the “City of Doors”, and by its true name, “Sigil”, that her journey began.

In the poorest part of the city, known as The Hive, guttersnipes took the coppers from poor old men and women who couldn’t defend themselves. Zombies stood in the middle of the street, serving as nothing more than bulletin boards as kids drew graffiti on them. Harlots stood in the streets, calling out to men for their… services. Men, dressed in rags, carried the dead off to the Mortuary, to turn them into skeleton and zombie workers and slaves. Kindly Wizards performed cantrips for the children while evil priests subjugated its faith’s worshippers into servitude across the street. It was a part of the City that was filled with nondescript despair and hope, fear and joy, love and hate, and all the things that composed cities of this size.

In a dark alley within the Hive, next to a ruined chapel dedicated to a deity long gone, a burst of gray light issued forth. A rift opened in the very air, and from that rift stepped forward a shadowed figure. Dressed in a cascade of black and violet robes, the being was obviously a caster to many, but the bladed weapon on its back begged a second look. A hood hid the pale features of the being as it gathered the pieces of staff that had fallen to the ground, placing them gently in a backpack before putting on the object, holstering it on its back before plodding out into the daylight. Keeping their face hidden, the person began walking through the Hive, ignoring others as they ignored them.

A cry issued forth, and briefly the being stopped to look back. Violet eyes looked from beneath the hood, peering at a group of bandits who had found a down-on-his-luck man, and were torturing him incessantly. Sighing in defeat and sadness, the girl turned to face the fight that others ignored. Grasping the handle on the blade on her back, she uttered a word of power to herself before moving forward rapidly. Her shadow bounced off the wall of a house, showing her image as it unsheathed its blade…

-

Teen Titans: The Blood War

Episode: 02 – Betwixt Realities

-

The dretch screamed as it was knocked back through the air, dissolving as its heart stopped beating and its soul was banished from Earth.

Cyborg deactivated his Sonic Cannon and sighed, leaning back against a nearby wall. He heard a shout, causing him to look up and toward the general direction of his ally: Beast Boy. The shifter was in raptor form, and had just given a fierce tail whip to another tiny demon, sending it sprawling. As the body lay to rest, it began to dissolve into separate components, and soon, like the one Cyborg had killed, only ash would betray any presence that there had been something there in the first place. The android sighed as Beast Boy morphed back into human form and took up a position next to Cyborg, using the wall as a shoulder to lean on. Slowly, the Titan slid down the wall into a sitting position, resting his face in his hands and letting out a low moan.

“Dude, this sucks!” he said to his companion. “I don’t think I can go on anymore! Any more fighting today and I think I’ll be sick!”

“I know what you mean,” Cyborg replied, stretching his arms. “Only a week into this mess, and I think I’m starting to feel the burn die out. Just… numb all over,” He looked down at his friend, who shrugged before letting a smirk cross his face.

“Well, I guess it’s ‘cause we’re killers,” the green-skinned boy told his tall friend with a sarcastic tone. “Or soldiers… murderers… somethin’…” mumbling, Beast Boy started falling asleep, his head dangling as his arms fell to his sides. His eyes stayed open for mere moments before they closed, and soon his slow breathing could be heard. Cyborg looked down at his friend with a red eye before looking back out to the street as the signs of life on this street returned once more. He nodded to passers-by as his friend slept, and soon it appeared as if Cyborg was nothing more than a monolith, closing his human eye as his cybernetic one stared out into the world. His arms crossed and one foot propped against the wall, the Titan soon set his augmentations to a watchdog position, while his human mind began to sleep.

As he drifted off, a single thought came to mind. “…wonder how Raven is…”

-

The former Boy Wonder, and now hospital patient, Robin stared at the TV that the others had set up for him on the far wall. In four days, he had recovered better than originally thought, but it would still take a week or so, with the help of nanomachines, before he could move again, but for Robin it may as well have been eternity. He was getting restless; he needed to get up, to move, to spar or run or swim or something that wasn’t lying down in this bed and staring at a commercial for the newest model Lexus.

“Robin…” a voice from the door said. Robin inwardly twitched as his mind focused on his other problem. Starfire was standing in the door, a far-off look in her eyes as she seemed to look at Robin. For once, Robin noted, she was wearing the clothes she normally wore when out in public instead of the embarrassingly not-there nightgown she had stuck to wearing recently. “Do you need something, Robin?”

Like clockwork… dully noted the boy, turning his neck – which had been the first of things to heal – to focus on the clock, which read 4:00p.m. exactly. Starfire would come by, once every hour, and stay from ten to fifteen minutes before muttering some kind of excuse and leaving. Turning back, Robin just shook at the girl, causing her to sink a little deeper into herself. Robin looked at the alien princess, who before looked bright and happy now looked sullen and withdrawn, a mockery of Raven’s darker side as she skulked into the room before sitting down in the chair next to Robin’s desk. She smiled at Robin, but the boy saw that it was a hollow smile, one that no one could really appreciate.

Her hair was disheveled, too; Starfire hadn’t been taking care of herself right, and Robin noticed that she also looked like she hadn’t been eating, as her ribs were poking from under her skin.

“Starfire…” he began, and then stopped. The girl turned to face him with hollow eyes, but he found that the words were easy. He didn’t even know what the problem was. Did she blame herself for him being in this predicament? For not having reacted fast enough? If she could, would she switch places with Robin? Or maybe… “Starfire… you know that it’s not your fault I’m here, right? It could have been any one of us, but the thing knew that I was the leader… so of course it attacked me,”

“I…” Starfire’s eyes flinched as their hollow tone took on a flash of light, before suddenly fading again, this time with a more far-off look. “I understand, Robin,”

“I don’t think you do, Starfire,” Robin replied. He tried lifting his right arm, which had decided to go numb for no reason to speak of. “You’re killing yourself, aren’t you? Thinking about that day?” he sat up the best he could and looked into Starfire’s eyes, but the alien only looked away. “It’s not your fault, so don’t beat yourself up for it. I’m the one who stood in the demon’s way, because I didn’t want my friends hurt. You understand that, don’t you?”

“…” Starfire turned and looked at Robin, a perfectly neutral expression on her face. “Of course I understand that,” she whispered, her voice and eyes never wavering. “Please, quit talking to me like I am a child. I might be alien to you, but I fully understand the concept protecting those close to you,”

“Then why are you doing this?” Robin asked her. “For a week, you’ve been doing nothing but this same cycle, every day. All you’re doing is killing yourself, Starfire…”

“You do not understand,” Starfire said, her voice dropping as her eyes regained their glint slightly. “You will never understand what it is like,”

“Then explain it to me,” Robin said, looking with genuine sincerity. He halfway expected Starfire to break down, cry, grab on to him, and spill her soul to him. But surprisingly, the girl just looked at him with disappointed and hollow eyes; eyes that pierced him yet ignored him, enraptured yet repelled him. And Robin knew that it was something much deeper than just allowing him to get hurt. But he also knew that Starfire was right. He would never understand it, whatever it was. In a span of six seconds, Starfire had told him more with a single look than he ever hoped to hear from a tear-stained reply. It is for this reason that Robin didn’t stop her when Starfire abruptly stood up, looking back at Robin with emerald eyes.

“…Goodbye,” she whispered, a hollow voice that was a shell of the girl’s former unbridled joy. She began walking out of the room, and not once did she look back, her auburn hair flowing behind her, her posture sullen, and yet she looked every bit the part of a beautiful, yet lost, soul; still a version of humanity seen only by Raven. Robin opened his mouth, to call for the girl he felt needed his help in her most dire time of need, but he soon closed it, knowing that he could neither make things better… or worse. The door leading out of the medical ward opened with a hiss, giving Robin the girl’s final goodbye for the day. The girl stepped across the threshold, and never looked back as the door closed.

Robin stared, his eyes unblinking for a moment, before he leaned back in his bed, propped against the wall behind him. The hum of the TV screen and monitors greeted his ears, but somewhere within, he thought he heard a distant sound, one filled with remorse, regret, yet joy and love. It was the sound of a crying soul, a sound Robin could hear as plainly as day. He looked toward and away from where Starfire was before turning his eyes to look outside. The afternoon sky was bright and blue, cloudless… the perfect day for going outside. In the distance, even through the thick glass of the tower, he could hear and see the sounds of the city. He felt them around him, through him, part of him… and he so wanted to use that feeling… just once…

-

An hour passed, revealing a tired Beast Boy and Cyborg sat on the couch while Starfire rummaged about in the kitchen, ignoring everything except for her singular objective of finding a tea pot that a certain mage had used before disappearing. The two boys exchanged glances, but had grown accustomed over the seven days since the attacks began that Starfire wasn’t as normal as she once was. Beast Boy realized, more than anyone that death was something extremely hard to get over – especially when you’re the one who caused that death. Looking at Cyborg briefly, the shapeshifter realized that perhaps he was the only person who understood anything about Starfire right now. He considered the consequences of speaking to her about it, but when he looked at her and saw those hollow eyes, he knew that he would have better luck talking to Slade about the matter.

As if listening to his thoughts, Cyborg looked at Beast Boy and said, “I wonder what Slade thinks of this whole mess. I know he’s probably not too thrilled with being face-to-face with creatures from another universe,” Beast Boy nodded agreement, but fell silent as his mind wandered. Slowly, his mind attuned to everything around him as he contemplated what was, is, and will be. He saw in front of him Cyborg as his larger friend leaned back, lost in thought; he heard Starfire behind him, humming an alien tune that, by human standards, came nowhere close to anything that resembled a song; he smelled the odor of tea leaves, boiling in a tea pot; and he felt the air around him – tense, uncomfortable, nothing like what the Tower used to be.

Used to be…

Abruptly, Beast Boy stood and muttered an excuse to his larger friend, who only nodded dumbly. He wandered past Starfire, his mind focused on the distant future and past, hoping to find an answer to this recent madness. He pushed away the present, finding it cold and aloof as he began to wander the Tower, hands in his pockets. He thought of the most recent events in memory; Slade’s return, Trigon and his Apocalypse, Terra’s petrifaction… all had happened within the past 2 years at least, and the Titans hadn’t been a group very long at all after Starfire had shown up to join them. Those memories flashed by in Beast Boy’s mind as he looked for an answer.

Soon, his mind had focused simply on Trigon and the Apocalypse that he and the others had fought through. Being the most difficult time the five Titans had ever been through, Beast Boy remembered it vividly and sometimes still woke up with pain in his bones, from the long and drawn-out fight that seemed to take ages, but lasted only as a sliver in time for most people, if they could even perceive that it had happened at all. The shapeshifter paused briefly as he considered Slade’s role in that battle, along with his own, and easily figured out that it had taken six, not five, to defeat a monster the size of a building.

And now here comes one… Beast Boy thought, remembering a fight from earlier this week. That almost kills me and Cyborg, and it’s not even half the size of Raven’s dad. If this is only the beginning, then I’m in for a long, painful, ride. He smirked at the thought. Of course, it could be fun… To that thought, Beast Boy smirked. Right, fun like diving into Raven’s head. That was a lot of fun, yep. Man, fighting Slade was better than this tripe. Man, I wish Raven was here… she’d know what to do…

Beast Boy walked through the threshold into the elevator and pushed a button. Stepping back and leaning against the wall of the elevator, the green-skinned boy looked up at the ceiling, at the fluorescent lights that adorned the ceiling reflected in his eyes. He stared at them as they stared back at him, and in the silence as the elevator made it to the bottom floor of the Tower. The Titan stepped out slowly, lost in thought, as he walked toward the front door of the building. As he neared the door, the motion detectors caught his movement and a pair of scanners cut beams across his body, registering that it was indeed the Titan before he stepped outside.

The air around the Tower was peaceful, the shapeshifter noted dully, and that was exactly what he wanted at this time. With a quick bound, Beast Boy hopped up onto a large rock that looked out into the City. He stood there for a moment, the wind blowing against him and rocking him gently, causing him to unconsciously clench and unclench his fists. His eyes scanned the City innocuously… slowly…

“Ahh… how majestic,” A voice said from behind him. “A lone hero standing atop a rock, overlooking his domain…” The voice had a cynical tone to it… one that Beast Boy both recognized all too well and despised even more. Turning to face the one who owned the voice, Beast Boy’s train of thought was wrecked as he looked down from the rock to the girl who had spoken.

“What… do you want?” he spat. Bright pink eyes blinked once, twice, as the pupils turned into catlike slits.

“I want to cut a deal,” Jinx said, her Cheshire grin widening.

-

The large area that composed the Hive was in a pitiful state, even moreso than normal for a slum of this size.

Raven made her way the best she could, her violet eyes picking out the best route through the area known as Ragpicker’s Square, possibly one of the worst places a girl could be when Sigil dropped into nightfall… though there might be worse… somewhere. Looking up-spin from where she was, Raven looked through the perpetual smog of the city into the “sky”, which was fading quickly into nighttime, meaning Raven would be alone with nothing but her weapons and her luck.

And Raven was running low on luck.

Heading into the deep depression that led toward the Beggar’s District of the Hive, Raven subconsciously quickened her pace as she laid eyes on her target; a short, surly Dwarf with a long, braided, black beard, who was working on closing up shop for the night. Before him, simple trinkets were laid out, ranging from iron pots to some finer pieces of simple weaponry; daggers, knives, even a short sword was on his simple wooden table. Raven almost smirked to herself; this indeed was her target. This Dwarf was going to help her out, whether he liked it or not, and she had the means to do so. She was, after all, the Daughter of a Devil… and not just any Devil to boot.

Walking up to the table, Raven placed a hand on a sword, staring at her pale reflection within it. She could barely make herself out behind her hood and dark robes, but her violet eyes still stood out against her pale skin. She couldn’t see them in the reflection, but Raven still felt the scars from the scratch she had received… was it four days ago? Shaking her head, Raven paid her memories no mind, but instead looked up at the Dwarf, who was still going about his packing routine.

“Closin’ down, cutter,” said the Dwarf. “’Fraid you’ll have ta be comin’ back ‘morrow,”
“I don’t have time for that… graybeard,” chided Raven, raising her voice to make it sound like she was many years younger. “Momma will be mad if I’m not home in time for dinner,” Straightening up suddenly, the Dwarf stopped in his tracks, almost dropping the box he held in his massive dwarven hands. Turning around slowly, a spot of wonder flashed in his gray eyes as he looked up and down at the girl who had spoken to him. Raven paused for a second, staring at the confused man before pulling back her hood. Familiarity registered in the Dwarf’s eyes, and his look of confusion was quickly replaced by a bearded smile as he put the box on the table before him.

“Well, well,” he said. “If it t’aint little Raven!”
“It’s nice to see you again, too, Klank,” replied the mage as a smile tugged at her lips. Before she could continue, the dwarf had moved around the table – knocking over a few trinkets in the process - and put Raven into a tight bear hug, squeezing the girl’s air out of her lungs. Despite this (and the dwarf’s smell of stale ale), Raven managed to put on a somewhat embarrassed smile as the dwarf let go. “So how’re things?”

“Aye, they good,” the dwarf said as he looked toward his home. “’ey! An’a, Khan, get your bodies to work and give this old graybeard a hand! We gots a visitor!” Looking back at the girl, he only shrugged as Raven’s grin turned into something of a half-smile.

“So Khan and Anna still live with you?” she asked him as she bent down and started picking up the knives that had fallen on the ground. The dwarf bent down and started to help, nodding. Raven moved slightly away from the stout man as his beard waggled toward the ground.

“Aye,” he confirmed. “And they’re still a useless buncha sods, they are!” Raven nodded as she finished picking up the knives and setting them back on the table, waiting patiently for the dwarf to finish his share. As he set the short sword on the table, he looked at the girl with a suddenly suspicious eye. “So, what brings yeh to the kip of Klank Shadowfoe, little Raven?” The dwarf had an eye cocked toward the mage as he scanned her face with a gray eye. Raven’s smile faltered slightly at the change in tone, but understood that it came with the territory. She opened her mouth to speak, to explain her mission, before being interrupted yet again by a high-pitched squeal that was either extremely cute or extremely irritating, depending on how one looked at it. Raven, cringing when she heard the sound, opted for the latter.

“Ohh, it’s little Raven!” a voice came from the house’s direction. With a few leaps and bounds, a larger form tackled Raven into a squeeze rivaled only by Klank’s earlier one, but caused similar results. Raven gasped for breath as her face contorted into one of such shock and surprise that Beast Boy would have a fit if he had gotten to see it.

“H-hey, Anna…” managed the 16-year old as her assailant let go. “Nice to see you too…” As she stepped back, Raven got a good look at her old friend.

She was about three inches taller than Raven, with a voluptuous frame that could cause many men to fawn over – including Beast Boy, Raven thought innocuously. …ESPECIALLY Beast Boy. Anna was also dressed in a very revealing set of clothing; a brown and red, tight shirt that covered only her chest and a pair of short shorts that accentuated her hips. Short auburn hair danced around Anna’s face, and sharp brown eyes smiled at Raven, along with a silly expression to boot. In fact, other than the twin horns protruding from her head and the demon tail that writhed about excitedly, Anna could have passed for a normal human.

Nevermind that she’s only 273 years old. Deadpanned Raven in her mind. Behind the two, Raven took note of a figure that was smiling at her as well, with his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorway.

“So how ya doin, little Raven?” Anna asked her with a voice that sat on the borderline between seductive and silly. “Come to see the old folks, have ya?”

“I guess you could say that, Anna,” said the younger girl as she relaxed her posture, folding her arms under her breasts. “But I’ve got more important things to do than just visit, unfortunately,” she offered an apologetic smile to the tiefling woman. “Sorry, but this is important. I have work to do, for my friends and for the Prime,”

“Ya live on de Prime, eh?” Klank said as he hefted another box. “Sorry,”
“It’s not so bad, actually,” Raven told both listeners as she gingerly sidestepped Anna. “I like it there… I have friends… and I cheated destiny,”

“What’s dat?” Anna asked. “Cheatin’ the Powers? Dat’s dangerous, girl,”
“Not them,” Raven assured her friend as the older trailed the younger back to Klank. “Just my father,”

“Ah, that old barmy devil?” Klank huffed as he set his last box with the rest of them. “D’ya finally off that sorry beast?” With a dwarven word and a flick of his hand, Klank drew a symbol of warding in the air that merged with the boxes; a useful security device for people who tried to steal from a dwarf, especially when the entangling webs and fireballs took effect. Rubbing his hands off on his trousers, Klank turned around and watched as Raven had walked up with Anna, and the two were making their way to the door.

“No, just banished him,” Raven replied. “But he’s stuck back in Hell for about three hundred years, assuming the Nine don’t off him and throw his body in the Abyss or something like it,” she shrugged. “But something far worse is using what Father left behind to invade the Prime… and I need some help to do it,” There was a pause at Klank put a hand to his chin and stroked it thoughtfully before nodding to himself.

“Ya need weapons and equipment, righ’?” he asked. Upon Raven’s nod of confirmation. “Ayeh, I got ya. Come in, we’ll discuss it inside over a flagon!” Despite cocking an eyebrow, Raven nonetheless followed, with Anna tagging close behind, as they neared the door and at the man there, who had moved to the side to let them in.

He was tall, about 6 and one-half feet, and looked slim, but not unhealthy. His clothes consisted of a tan, long-sleeved shirt and trousers underneath a layer of thin leather armor, which itself was a mish-mash of red and tan leather straps, along with a slightly oversized left pauldron. He was pale, though not as much as Raven, and his bones seemed to be longer than a humans. He had large ears that ended in points, which were studded with various rings and hoops. His eyes were platinum in color, and they reflected light like pools of mercury. He had a small, oriental style moustache and goatee, and his face was somewhere between solemn and serene.

“Khan,” said Raven slowly. “It’s nice to know that you’re alive,”
“And the same to you,” replied Khan. “Daughter of Arella,”

Both nodded to each other, and that was all that was to be said right now. Raven’s very emotions told Khan all he needed to know about the situation, and so as she and the others stepped inside, he closed the door behind them and made his way to the table in the middle of the house.

“You’ve redecorated,” Raven commented as she placed a hand on a hand-polished, wooden table. “Last time I was here…”

“Was nine years ago and a lot poorer, I know,” Anna said. “We’ve refurnished, mostly for me and Klank, cause you know Khan don’t give a howling girallon about nothin’,”

“I heard that,” came a shout from deeper within the house.
“Oh, pike off, Khan!” Anna retorted. Turning back to Raven, she said, more softly. “Anyweh, Klank and I been… sprucin’ up the place. Flowers and some such here and dere, but mostly we gots rid o’ that old furniture and had a spellslinger conjure us up sumptin’ nice,” she shrugged. “For once, anyways,”

“I see…” Raven whispered as she stepped into the main room of the home. Despite is squalored appearance outside, within the house was almost twice the size. Hardwood, polished floors rested under a large, dire wolf rug, which was set in front of a small fireplace. A small table rested on the rug, and on it set a parchment. Among the room was other odds and ends that went from a sheathed sword on the wall to a tank filled with miniature versions of deadly sharks to even an oddly-placed flower pot – so oddly placed that it was jutting out sideways from the wall.

Overall, there was a feeling of… of homeliness within, and Raven felt her body relax under her robes as she watched Klank walk over to a well-used chair and sat in it with a bodily “thump”. Anna walked more gingerly over to the two-seat couch and sat down on one end, motioning with a hand to the side across from her. Unhurriedly, Raven dropped her things next to the door and walked over, sitting down next to the tiefling slowly.

“So…” Klank began, pulling out a long pipe and lighting it. “Tell us, little Raven… how’s our little girl?”

“Well… where do you want me to begin?” asked the mage, feeling a fix between wanting to hurry and wanting to rest – and part of her knew that Klank wasn’t going to help until he had heard the most important details of her past nine years.

“From the beginning, like all good tales do,” Khan said from the other room.
“All right…” Raven paused a second. “I live in a city called…”

-

“So you want to work with us again, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s the gist of it,”
“…In exchange for total… what was the word, Cy?”
“…she doesn’t want to be convicted of anything, anymore… and she wants her own room,”
“Yep, he’s got it,”

Beast Boy, Cyborg, Robin, and Jinx all sat within the medical ward, with the lot of them surrounding Robin’s bed (save Robin himself). Jinx sat between Beast Boy and Cyborg, tossing her communicator up and down like a toy ball, with the latter two exchanging confused glances. Robin, meanwhile, had both his arms crossed as he looked at the hex-girl, an eyebrow up in suspicion.

“I know you’re an Honorary now,” he was saying. “But this is kind of sudden… and asking for a full pardon?” Jinx stopped tossing the disc up and down and looked at Robin. She wasn’t wearing her normal outfit anymore; instead, a violet and black-striped shirt and black pants was her style, along with wearing her hair down, allowing it to fall over her shoulders. Her catlike eyes had dilated slightly, allowing for less of the pink to show. Nonetheless, it was still unmistakably Jinx in front of him (especially with those huge shoes)… and she was requesting something in exchange for helping them.

“Look, I know, okay?” Jinx replied, her face contorted to one between understanding and annoyance, but meaning neither. Beside her, Beast Boy and Cyborg exchanged glances. “Look, it’s between all the Honoraries now that Raven’s gone,” she shot a glance at Cyborg, who shrugged. “She’s gone, and no one knows just where she’s went off to… not even you guys, right?” she paused and awaited a silent confirmation. “I happened to be around the area – which is good for you, because I was thinking about moving to Steel City with the rest of them – but instead figured I could stay and fill your missing fifth fighter, you know?” she suddenly looked pleading and straightened up. “Besides, you guys know I’m a good person now… right?” Lifting a hand, Robin shook his head.

“It’s not your loyalty I doubt, Jinx,” he replied, reading her emotions. “But to be frank, you’re still not on good terms with us. You’ve fought and almost beaten us more than once… that doesn’t earn you a good rep around here,” the girl looked genuinely hurt by that comment, but Robin still wasn’t so sure; the first time she had “almost” turned to their side, she also put on a good show. “Are you willing to apologize for what you’ve done wrong, Jinx?”

“I…” the girl paused, her face unreadable for a second. “I am… I know I am…” she looked up, and Robin noted a certain… a certain conviction in her catlike eyes. “And I can prove it, too! I’ll start right now!”

“Then don’t ask us to plead for you for things you’ve done wrong,” Cyborg said suddenly, catching on to what Robin was doing. “It’s your fight, Jinx… we can’t do that for you. You’ve hurt us all in some way… simply by being against us,” he paused, letting the words sink in.

“I still have a dartboard with your picture on it,” Beast Boy muttered. “I’ve gotten pretty good at it, too,” he made a dart-throwing motion with a hand. “Right between the eyes. Twip!” he smirked at the hexer, who only frowned in a fit of sadness. Almost feeling bad, the shapeshifter continued. “Don’t feel bad, Jinx; it’s the old you. You know, the one with demon hair,” he put his hands up to his head and imitated bull horns with his fingers. “Remember?”

“Hey, I thought it looked good!” Jinx said indignantly. “And deliciously evil, too!”
“Deliciously retarded,” Beast Boy deadpanned, rolling his eyes.
“Was, NOT!” Jinx shouted, standing full out of her seat and stamping a foot. She crossed her arms and glared at Beast Boy.

“Was done it,” the changeling replied, folding his arms as well and cocking an eyebrow. “Looked like a raging PMS-bot,” he imitated the “bull-horns” again and smirked.

“At least I don’t have to stay out of my real shape!” Jinx shot back. “We all know you’re really a monkey!” she pointed. “A damn, dirty ape!”

“Clever,” Beast Boy mocked, baring his fangs. “You got more? I’ve trained with Raven; I could do this all day… ‘course, I’ll win,”

“Don’t say that!” Jinx argued. “I have half a mind to-” she paused suddenly, hearing something that resembled a… snort? Peering closer at her targeter, Jinx realized that Beast Boy was stifling a laugh. Glancing toward her left, she saw that Robin was chuckling very lowly, keeping a bandaged hand over his mouth and shaking with laughter. And behind her, Jinx didn’t see, but just knew that Cyborg was probably shutting himself off to keep from exposing it… whatever it was. “What’s so funny?” she did a once-over on herself. “Is something wrong?” As she let the words loose, however, she was greeted with the unbridled laughter of three young men. Staring at all of them in confusion, Jinx soon got the gist of it, and began laughing as well. Soon, the echoing of four laughing children echoed throughout the Tower, going so far as to reach the lonely ears of a fifth, who huddled in her room with the lights out.

Slowly, their laughter died down, and then altogether ceased. Jinx wiped a tear away from under her left eye before turning her smile toward Robin. “You got me,”

“Nah, we didn’t get you,” Cyborg piped up.
“We got you good!” Beast Boy finished, before succumbing to another fit of laughter. Jinx offered a shy smile to Robin at the onset of the shapeshifter’s laughter, and in turn the Boy Wonder only smiled.

“Of course you can stay,” he told her. “You still have to earn your forgiveness… but we’re willing to let you stay,” he gestured toward Beast Boy. “B, find her a room… that’s not Raven’s, okay? She’ll pitch a fit if she sees Jinx in her room when she comes back,”

“If,” Cyborg corrected, standing as well.
“She will,” Robin promised. “Off you go, now, guys… I think I need a nap,” he leaned back in his bed and stared at the ceiling for a minute. “How much more, Cy?”

“Give it another week, Rob,” Cyborg told his friend as he led Jinx and Beast Boy out.
“Right,” Robin replied. “Later,”
“See ya,”

Robin waited until they were gone before laying down completely and closing his eyes.

“So how’d I do, Raven?” he asked the ceiling quietly. “I know you don’t like her… but I hope she’ll make up for everything…” he rubbed his eyes with an arm. “Now… if I could only fix Starfire so easily…”

As he mumbled his last words before drifting off to sleep, he didn’t notice the medical ward door open. He didn’t hear the footsteps fall as they neared his bed. And he didn’t see the auburn-haired girl as she sat down next to Robin’s bed…

…and wept.

-

“…and that’s about it,” Raven finished. “And now… now I’m here,” she sipped the cup of tea that had been handed to her well over an hour ago, and frowned at its tepid state. “So… will you help me, guys?” Next to her, Anna had taken on a more grave appearance, her face one of mixed concern and anger. Klank had long ago finished with the pipe and was sitting on the edge of his rocking chair as he listened to Raven, and even Khan had stopped what he was doing to listen, standing at the threshold between rooms to listen to her story.

“I guess those of the Prime do lead interesting lives,” Khan said as Raven put down her cup.
“Aye,” Klank said. “They do,” he smiled at Raven and picked up his ale. “’Course we’ll help ya, little Raven. That’s what we’re here for,” he raised the tankard as a toast before downing it in a single swallow. Raven looked at Anna, who nodded to her as consent – she would help as well. Looking back, Khan simply nodded. Looking back toward her tea, a content smile fell on Raven’s face.

“Thanks, all of you,” she said. “I know this is sudden and all, but I glad you can help,” Surprisingly, Klank snorted.

“We got nuthin’ to do, ya know,” he told her. “I might be callin’ the Hive kip, but ‘cause me father and me father’s father helped build Azarath, I guess you could be sayin’… I’m well off,” he nodded to Anna. “’Sides, me only job is keeping these two berks out of trouble,”

“Hey!” Anna shouted.
“I protest,” Khan quietly… protested.

Klank chuckled, his gut moving up and down under his beard. “Aye, I’ll help wit’ whatever ya need, little Raven,” he stood and stretched. “…tomorrow. I’ll help ya tomorrow, ‘cause I know you be needin’ arms and equipment, so I best get some rest,” he gestured toward the tall man at the threshold. “You mentioned needin’ his help; Khan still stays up all night, so feel free,” with that, he muttered a goodnight, and walked past the small group and up the stairs to his room. He took with him that slight odor of stale ale, and Raven noticed that in its place was the soft smell of lilacs… which came from Anna. Looking at the tiefling, Anna only shrugged and stood from her seat.

“Methinks I’ll be turnin’ in as well,” she told the other two. “Girl’s gotta get your beauty rest,”
“You’re almost three-hundred years old,” Khan deadpanned. “I hardly think you’re considered a girl anymore,” He cocked an eyebrow as Anna stuck her tongue out at him before heading up the stairwell. The two on the first floor listened briefly to the creaking of steps, and for a moment the house didn’t seem so… homely. But as Anna closed the door to her room, the room almost instantly brightened again, and Raven passed off the feeling as simple disorienting sounds. Standing up herself, she looked at Khan, who stared back expectantly.

“So…” she said. “Like I said, I need your help… controlling something,” Khan nodded and walked toward her, holding his hands loosely at his sides as he approached Raven and put a hand on her head, slightly ruffling her violet hair.

“Your inner fiend,” he stated… it wasn’t a question. “You said you let it loose when fighting the tanar’ri, and you want my help to control it,” Raven nodded slightly, and a slight feeling of… of shame… touched her. Her face turned a light shade of pink as she looked down and away, feeling Khan’s eyes upon her still, even as he ran his hand down to her shoulder and rested it there. Lifting his other hand, the taller of the two pointed at the sword hanging on the wall, causing it to shake slightly as it lifted from its perch and floated toward him silently. Clasping it by the sheath, he held it in his hand before looking down at Raven and said, “Do not feel remorse or shame for your actions; you did what you had to do in order to help those around you survive,” he slipped the sheath into a holster on his back. “You may be half-fiend, but you are still the Daughter of Arella… this I know,” letting go of her, he backed up a step and kneeled, looking up into Raven’s eyes.

“Help me control it,” she requested as she looked back at Khan. “Fighting my father made me realize I can’t lock the devil within me away… so I have to control it,”

“I understand,” Khan said, lowering his head. For a moment, he resembled a knight bowing before his princess. The fire’s light danced off the two for a moment, and for that brief period of time Raven felt good about this. As Khan stood, he gestured toward the door, and Raven nodded, stepping in front of him and heading for the door. She moved to pick up her things, but Khan instead stopped her hand.

“Your weapons, you won’t need them,” he said. “Just what you have on you right now,” For a flicker, that good feeling was gone, and Raven eyed Khan with a hint of suspicion. But the look in the older man’s eyes told her to “trust me”, and so she did. Leaving her sword and equipment at the door, the mage opened the door and stepped outside. Behind her, Khan also stepped through the door, closing and locking it with a key. Raven waited patiently, her robes flowing gently in Sigil’s winds, and joined with the man as they made their way to a part of the Hive only Khan knew about.

I can trust him to help me. Raven thought to herself. Mother trusted him… mother trusted all three of them… and they’re technically members of the Order of Azarath… yes, they’ll help me…

The two reached a point in the road, and Khan pointed at the ground. The ground where he pointed shimmered, then altogether disappeared, revealing a stairwell in the ground. He gestured, and Raven nodded. Stepping in first, Raven made her way into the darkness. Although she believed she wouldn’t be able to see, Raven was somewhat surprised when she saw everything around her. Granted, it was only walls and stairs, but it was sight none-the-less… in black-and-white.

“What is this?” she whispered, as Khan stepped into the stairwell behind her and closed the portal/door.

“This area,” he replied. “Is infused with psychic energy of the Followers of Zerthimon. Here, with time and training, you will learn to control and accept your inner baatezu,” he paused. “You’ll slowly gain all the powers of your fiend-self. However, these will tempt you into evil, so you must be prepared,” nodding, Raven continued into the depths ahead of her.

“What else?”
“You must be prepared to fight your worst fears and closest loves… for the way of Zerthimon teaches you that unless you know yourself, then you cannot truly have allies or enemies. That is the way,”

“Within you will also find portals to other planes; Celestia, Arcadia, Mechanus, Pandemonium… Hell… all of the Outers are linked here, and it is your mission to head for each… there, on each plane, can you find and know yourself, and something that makes up a part of you. Then, and only then, can you know yourself,”

“I understand,” Raven whispered. “Is it possible that I’ll die?”
“Yes, very,” Khan said without wavering. “But you are the Daughter of Arella… and if you’re anything like your mother, then you will survive. Arella, though a Prime, taught us many things when she visited us in Sigil nine years ago. Her story of perseverance over struggle and hate was a lesson all should learn. And though it pains me to know that Azarath is emptied, I have little doubt that she’s still alive,” Khan paused as Raven did, the girl looking up at her friend. “You met us once before, as you recall; that’s how you remembered who and where we were. We are still your family’s friends, despite the unbridled, righteous fury we feel toward your father, the Lord of the First, Trigon,”

Nodding, Raven continued, lost in thought. Righteous fury… she wondered. I wonder how Starfire is…

-

When Robin opened his eyes some hours later, he found that, once again, Starfire was in his room. He felt a mix of anger and concern as he looked at the alien girl, who had taken to sleeping on the same bed as him again. The girl had obviously been crying, again, and had went for the nearest source of comfort. For Starfire, this had been Robin, who, though fast asleep in a dreamless slumber, had proved once again that his mere presence eased the girl. He patted the girl’s head softly, though the touch caused her to mumble and squeeze onto Robin a bit tighter than what was comfortable.

“Man… how much longer…” wondered the boy as he looked out the window to the City on the Bay. “Till I get better…” His arms worked, but getting up and about was an entirely different matter. His legs were still numb, and he still felt like he had been run over by a Mack truck. Also, Starfire may have looked light, but she was as dense as lead, especially when she was acting as nothing more than dead weight. Robin turned his attention back to the alien as he unconsciously played with her hair, staring at her cute face as she mumbled something in her own language. Concern etched Robin’s face as he stared at the girl. What could he do? She wouldn’t speak to him, to anyone in the Tower, and so he was helpless.

“Hey, Robin…” the voice was quiet, but Robin recognized its owner well. Looking up, he stared at Beast Boy, who stood on the other side of the medical ward door, giving his leader a goofy grin. “Can I come in, or do I need to come back later?” Chuckling lightly at his own joke, the changeling let himself in, opening and shutting the door manually as to not make noise. Slowly, he crept up to the bed where Robin continued to stare unhappily at Starfire, who was completely oblivious to anything going on. Beast Boy sat down in the oft-used chair next to Robin’s bed and leaned back in it, slinging one arm over the back of the chair and letting it hang while his other rested on his stomach. Looking over at Robin, he grinned.

“Still can’t figure it out, huh,” he said. His mouth was a smile, but his eyes told Robin that Beast Boy wasn’t asking. “Dude, you really need to get better at reading people… especially your girlfriend here,” Robin choked on air when Beast Boy let loose the word girlfriend, eliciting a light chuckle from his friend. “Just kiddin’, man… but seriously, you do need to get it,”

“Are you saying you do?” Robin whispered, trying not to wake the girl up.
“Course I do,” Beast Boy replied, shifting slightly in his seat. “Man, for being in the business as long as we have, you’ve got to understand people. Didn’t the old man teach you that?” Robin shook his head. “Well, then I guess that’s why old Bats doesn’t get along with the rest of the League, huh?” he paused for a second. “You know, now that I think about it, you really are clueless, Rob.”

“Am not…” Robin retorted defensively. “I’m just… not very adept at this… people thing, man.”
”That’s a dirty cop-out, and you know it,” Beast Boy said almost condescendingly. “Just face it; you suck at it because you want to be like the old man, and so you never allowed yourself to look at others and determine what they feel or think,” Robin opened his mouth to protest, but Beast Boy interrupted. “It’s different from him, Robin. In our line of work, we’re chasing down all sorts of villains. Look at all we’ve come across,” he counted. “Red Star, Jinx, Jericho… all of them can tell you so much from looking at you, dude.”

“And you can understand what it is?” Robin asked, and was slightly surprised to see Beast Boy nod.

“I’m not completely clueless, Robin,” he said. “I might have my moments, but I do get things sometimes... like now,” he gestured toward Starfire. “Look at her, Robin. I bet she doesn’t look different to you at all, other than being upset over something.”

“Well… I’ve been thinking about it,” Robin admitted. “It’s not like I can do much in this bed.”
“But you haven’t got it,” Beast Boy said.
“…no,” Robin confirmed. “No, I haven’t.”
“That’s because you can’t read people,” the changeling told him. “Let me ask you something… when did you lose your innocence?” For a brief moment, Robin was lost in thought before looking at Beast Boy.

“The circus… the day my family died…” he said. “When I became Robin… and when I…” it hit him. “When I almost killed someone…” he looked at the girl, realization in his eyes. “It’s like you said before… the demon…”

“Not just that, but you’re close,” Beast Boy agreed. “All the events that led up to it, Robin… think about it. Your history in Gotham, losing my parents and becoming a member of the DP, Cyborg’s forced experiments on himself, all of them led up to us losing a part of us that allowed us to stop being children and start being heroes,” he looked at Starfire as well. “Starfire… she’s always been innocent, by accident or design or both… but she’s always been that way. Joining us started to unravel that, and killing the demon broke it,” he half-smiled. “You popped her cherry, Rob. She’s growing up now, just like the rest of us.”

“So…” Robin took Starfire’s hand, which had stretched out a bit and needed to move; he felt a slight warmth as the girl unconsciously squeezed it for comfort. “So she’s going to just grow up, just like that?”

“This isn’t a cartoon, Robin,” Beast Boy chided. “It’ll take time… but she’ll grow up, yeah…” his smile broadened. “And pretty soon, she’ll be back with us, taking on the enemy with the best of ‘em.” Beast Boy punched the air with both hands for emphasis. “Just you wait… then you two can go off and…” he offered a sly grin. “Make babies or something.”

“Beast Boy!” Robin half-shouted, mortified. Beast Boy merely laughed to himself, ignoring Robin’s weak punch.

“Please quit shouting…” A third voice suddenly said. Shocked, both Titans looked at Starfire, who had since opened her eyes and was staring straight ahead from where her head lay. Beast Boy nearly fell out of his chair at seeing her awake, while Robin just looked guilty and quickly let go of her hand.

“S-Starfire, how long have you been awake?” Robin asked, slightly nervous.
“Since Beast Boy walked in,” replied the girl, sitting up in Robin’s bed and straightening her hair a little bit. The changeling did fall out of his chair this time, and Robin wondered if she was lying and had been awake for longer than that. “I want to know something.”

“What’s that?” The two males asked simultaneously.
“Will you forgive me for being a nuisance?” Starfire asked, looking as if she was on the verge of tears again at the thought. “Robin, I know I have been distant as of late, but I do not want it to become a problem. If you tell me to, I will leave.”

“Starfire, no!” Robin exclaimed, leaning back on his elbows. “Just because you’re having problems doesn’t mean you have to go!”

“He’s right,” Beast Boy agreed. “We do understand what’s wrong, Starfire… and we’re here to help.”

“You don’t have to hide it,” Robin told her. “You can tell us, and we’ll listen.”
“I just…” Starfire paused as she looked between her friends. “These bad feelings within me… I did not know how to deal with them and I… I was afraid…” she paused again. “I am not comfortable talking about it.”

“And we’re not going to force you, Star,” Robin assured her, placing a hand on hers. “When you’re ready, you’ll tell us.”

“Th… Thank you,” whispered the girl, and for the first time in a week, a bright, real, smile adorned her face. The room seemed to brighten with Starfire’s soft smile, and it spread to the other two Titans as they, too, offered smiles to each other. “Thank you… for understanding…” in a sudden rush of movement, Starfire glomped Robin, squeezing him into a tight embrace that left the Boy Wonder a bit happy that he couldn’t feel his entire body yet. Beast Boy stared, smiling at the two, before standing.

“Well, now that you two have reconciled some temporary differences,” he said. “I’ll go to bed. Star, you too.”

“Wait,” Starfire interjected. “Before you go, I would like you to explain something.” Beast Boy tensed, not liking where this was going. Slowly, he turned around.

“W-what?” he asked. Starfire resumed her serious look from before, looking at Beast Boy intently.
“You mentioned something that sounded like it could be dangerous…” she replied. “You meant it as a metaphor, but I am curious…” she coughed. “What did you mean by… ‘popping my cherry’? Why is my cherry popped? I do not understand.” Both males blanched, with Beast Boy’s giving way to sheer, unbridled laughter.

“Robin can explain it to you, Starfire!” he said, turning and not making it obvious he was trying to run out the door.

“Wait, Beast Boy!” Robin shouted after him. “Answer her!”
“Your job, buddy!” Beast Boy shot back, already at the door. He opened it quickly and stepped through. “Later, kids!” with that, the door shut, and Beast Boy’s echoing laughter grew distant as he walked back to his room. Robin stared at the door, horrified that his friend would abandon him in his most desperate time of need, only to feel a tug on his arm.

”Will you explain this to me, Robin?” asked Starfire, who looked dead serious about the question. Sweat dripped down Robin’s face as he began to weigh the pros and cons of answering the question honestly or not…

-

“Okay, focus.”
“Right, I got it…”

Raven stood in the pitch darkness alone, with Khan just outside her range of darkvision. The mage was alone in a large room; above and around her was nothing but blackness, and only the gray hue of the floor let her know that she was standing on solid ground. Just out of range, Raven could barely make out four columns around her, arranged in a square so they could hold the ceiling up from falling down around her. The air was stale and old, and far in the distance Raven could hear the hum of multiple portals as they held their gates open to other planes of existence; the other Outer Planes, as they were.

“Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos…” Raven’s mantra echoed in the large room. “Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos...” Raven’s purple eyes changed into their grey hue as they gathered her inner energy. “Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos…” Around her, an onyx bubble of magical energy surrounded her, encasing her within it and pulsing with her power. “Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos…” Raven’s eyes rolled into the back of her head, their grey hue giving way to a bright red one as two extra eyes opened atop her forehead, just above her first two eyes. “Az…” Raven gasped.

“Focus! Let the fiend come out!” Khan shouted from the darkness.

“Az…Azarath… Metrion… Zynthos…” Raven felt a stinging sensation along four places on her back. She suppressed a scream as her four massive, skinless wings sprouted, tearing through her robes. The bone-wings were briefly surrounded by black energy before flapping once, emerging as bat-like wings and encasing the girl within them. “I… I can’t!”

“You must! If you want your training to begin, you must let it out from within!”

“I’m afraid to!” Raven shouted back. “I… I don’t want it to consume me!”
“It won’t!” Khan yelled. “If you trust yourself, then it won’t control you!”

Easier said than done. Raven thought sadly.

“A…Azara…Azarath… M-Metrion… Zyn… Zynthos…” Raven fell to her knees as energy pulsed from her body. “God, forgive me…” Her black energy field collapsed briefly before coming up as a field of pure red energy, pulsing from Raven’s body as she let loose her last mental locks and let out the devil inside. “Tensas… Mu-Mutas… B…Baatoras…” Raven’s four eyes merged together, forming two bright red eyes that pulsed with evil energy. The red energy field encompassing her tightened around her as her wings contracted, surrounding her body as it morphed into its true form.

All at once, the four wings spread themselves violently, shattering the red energy sphere and sending slivers or hellish energy through the room. The wings spread out behind Raven, two reaching six feet back and two reaching seven, as the lower, shorter two began to slowly curl in on themselves. Slowly, Raven stood up from her kneeling position, her arms hanging loosely at her sides. Her clothes began to ripple about her before polymorphing into a tight, black, leather body suit, similar to the one she usually one but encompassing her arms, legs, and neck. As she unclenched her fists, Raven’s hands crew ten wicked, lo g claws as fingernails, the tips of them glinting in the red light that exuded from her body. Raven’s head twitched sideways a few times as her hair tripled in length, keeping its purple shade but tipped with red. Her hair fell about her face at this length, and for a moment she was quiet… until she looked up.

Her mouth was open, and two of her canines had formed two fangs. Her eyes, for a moment, were still glowing red, before they resumed their original violet color. However, this too changed as the black pupils in her eyes turned red and contracted to resemble a dragon’s eyes.

Raven looked up, her vision red with blood… and screamed.

To Be Continued…

[Atoragon]

I must say this. This story is BRILLIANCE, SHEER BRILLIANCE. I know some people out there may disagree with me, but I sincerely doubt it. This is surely a helluva lot better than the story that I'm writing. Can't wait for the next installment:D :D :D

[paranoidguy103]

I love this story. The plot is interesting and has plenty of action and suspence in every section. I hope you plan to write more, because this story is great.:D

Peace,
Paranoidguy103