The Stage of Apocalypse

[Atoragon]

I beggin for responses of any kind, no matter how wierd or derogitory (Did I spell that word right?). Anyways, its as if nobody cares, as if they open up and close it, just to make me feel better that there are views.

So here’s the deal. I was really pissed off when they cancelled Teen Titans, so I decided to create my own addition. This starts pretty much right after the end of Season 5 of the original Teen Titans TV show. It can be either a continuation of the original series or the beginning of a new series/show/thingy, you decide. In this, I will introduce a new character, Cipher, who will be an Oracle of a God in a cult/religion I made up one night when I was supposed to be doing my homework. I may choose to add in some romance between Raven and Cipher. Yes, I know. Almost every fan fiction created character has a thing with Raven, but I don’t care. For five seasons, she has needed a man, with exception to the first part of the episode “Spellbound.” I know that my writing skills are not exemplary and I will accept ant ideas for this story because imagination is pretty much, pop… fizzle… dead. Any feedback of any sort is greatly appreciated.

[Atoragon]

So, here is my story. It is my first one on this site and I am sorta new at this fanfic stuff.

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Chapter 01


It was just a normal day in Jump City. The sky was clear with the exception of a few clouds. The past days had been rather quiet and uneventful. Raven is sitting on the sofa, reading one of her books, as usual. Cyborg is staring out the window at the view of the bay. The other three are playing cards at the table.

“Go fish, Star,” said Beast Boy.

“Go fish? I thought we were playing cards, not fishing,” replied Starfire confused.

“It is just an expression, Star. Just draw a card from the deck.”

“But you said ‘Go fish’?”

“Forget what I said, just draw a card.”

“Why must Earthlings use such weird expressions? Why can you not just say ‘Draw a card’?”

“Because the game is called Go fish.”

“But this game has nothing to do with fishing.”

“It is just a name, Star!”

“So I draw a card?”

“Yes!” Starfire began to draw a card but suddenly dropped it when a roar of jet engines came from outside the window.

“Did I do something wrong?” asked Starfire.

“No. Look!” replied Cyborg from the window. He was pointing at a jet fighter flying above the bay. Giving chase were four unknown craft of unknown origin. The unknowns released a barrage of laser fire. “He must to be a good pilot if he can dodge all that fire and still take down half of those enemies.” The Titans ran out to roof of their tower and looked upon the dogfight happening in the skies above

“It looks like him luck just ran out,” deadpanned Raven. The single fighter had been hit in the starboard engine by laser fire. The engine sputtered and belched out thick black smoke.

“Aww, dammit,” said the pilot to himself. He typed commands furiously into the computer.

“Initiating Self Destruct Sequence,” chirped the computer. The pilot pulled the eject lever and the canopy blew off into the sky. Rockets on the bottom of the seat roared to life and ejected the pilot out of the raging inferno. He began to drift towards the T-shaped tower on a nearby island that he found quite interesting. The plane exploded into a hellish fireball, taking out the other unknowns with it. Shrapnel from the explosion ripped through the parachute, putting the pilot into freefall.

“Perfect,” commented the pilot to himself sarcastically. “Just what I need, seeing what my luck has been like today.”

The black aura wrapped around him, supporting his falling form. His descent slowed and he came to a stop, upside-down, a mere 2 inches from the roof of Titans Tower. He opened his clenched eyes and reached out to touch the concrete roof.

“Am I paste against the roof of this tower? Is this what being reunited with the Great Aziera is like?” the pilot asked himself.

“You look pretty intact to me,” replied Robin. The pilot had now noticed the Titans standing a few feet away. They had finally got a good look at him. He was tall, at least six foot three. He was wearing a dark blue flight suit and black boots. He had short brown hair and large, friendly, blue eyes.

“Hey there,” he said. Raven began to blush when they met eyes. “Would ya mind setting me down?” Raven righted the pilot and set him down. He brushed himself off and looked over the Titans. Starfire asked her typical, ‘new friend’ question.

“I am very curious about you. Please. Where do you come from; how did you get here; what is your favorite color, and do you wish to be my friend?"

“Uhh, in order. A small town in my home country of Aerkusto called Tokorei; I flew her; uhh, blue I guess; and, umm… sure.”

“Welcome new friend!” squealed Starfire as she embraced him, nearly crushing him. “But what does our new friend call himself?”

“Me? Cipher.”

“Cipher? What kind of a name is that?” asked Beast Boy.

“Beast Boy, what kind of a name is that?” retorted Cipher.

“How’d you know my name? I didn’t tell you.”

“I read all ‘bout the Titans in the National Archives. All your missions. All your adventures. All about you guys.”

“All about us, huh?” challenged Raven. “Then what is my name?”

“Raven.”

“Where am I from?

“Uhh, Azarath.”

“My father’s name?”

“Trigon?”

“And who here do I find the most annoying?”

“Beast Boy, most definitely. And I guess that means we both have something in common.”

“What’s that?”

“We both find Beast Boy annoying.” Beast Boy cast Cipher an aggravated glance. “Come on B, lighten up. I may actually listen to your jokes.”

“Let me prepare a Tamaranian feast for you, dear new friend!" squealed Starfire.

“I will be brutally honest,” replied Cipher. “I don’t know whether to be thankful of fearful of this Tamaranian food.”

“Fear it!” yelled Cyborg with a worried look on his face.

“Why?”

“Here on Earth, you eat the food, but on Tamaran, the food eats you. If you survive the first course, you’ll probably end up rolling around on the floor gagging from the second course.” Starfire was clearly hurt by this.

“I will take your advice for that, Cyborg. Star, don’t be down. I promise I will eat some of this Tamaranian food… eventually.” Starfire’s feelings began to ameliorate.


Beast Boy had apparently been pondering on a certain question for quite a while. This was quite a surprise seeing how his attention could not be kept for longer than 5 seconds on anything that wasn’t video games.

“Dude, who is this ‘Great Aziera’ that you mentioned?”

“The people of my homeland believe that the Great Aziera, or Razerikrisho, as her actual name is, created the world. She then created six gods to watch over the world’s inhabitants. I am said to be the Oracle of one of these gods, Spirnak, the God of Lightning.”

“Sooo… does that mean you can control electricity?” asked Raven, trying to get a better understanding of the new arrival.

“Pretty much,” he answered. Beast Boy just stared at Cipher confused, trying to take it all in. Interrupting his thoughts, the waning sirens began to blare.

“Titans, Go!” commanded Robin as he ran for the staircase. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Cipher. “Do you want to come? We may be able to use your ‘unique’ powers.”

“Sure. I don’t see why not.”

The T-Car and R-Cycle raced down Main Street to where the disturbance was. Starfire flew a few feet behind them. Cyborg was driving with Beast Boy at shotgun. Raven and Cipher occupied the back seat.

“So who do you think it is this time, Cy?” queried Beast Boy, breaking the silence. “Dr. Light? Slade?”

“Dunno, report never mentioned who.”

“Who are these people that BB is talking about?” asked Cipher turning to Raven.

“Bad guys,” she replied, still looking out the window. “I thought you said you read everything in your National Archives about us?”

“That right. I read about you guys. Not your adversaries.” Raven rolled her eyes.

“What the…” stammered Cyborg. “I don’t believe it.”

Cyborg stopped the car and everyone got out. Two seconds later, Robin was at his side and Starfire landed behind the group.

“Hotspot! What are you doing?” questioned Robin.

“Fulfilling the will of the Gods, of course,” replied the fire bender.

“Raven, do you sense that?” asked Cipher.

“Yes. His mind is being controlled.”

“By a god.”

“How do you know,” queried Cyborg.

“You may consider it a side affect of being an Oracle.”


“Any other side affects we should know about?”

“No,” lied Cipher. There was another side affect. A very dangerous one. One that could only be released as a last resort.

“Looks like they are already done.” In their conversation, Cyborg and Cipher had been oblivious to Starfire knocking Hotspot out with a single star beam and Raven breaking the mind control connection.

“Oww. What happened?” asked Hotspot as got up off the ground. “Why am I here in Jump City?”

“Someone or something was controlling your mind,” replied Robin.

“Controlling my mind? Why would whoever did this be interested in me?”

“I don’t know, but we will find out,” replied Robin punching his open palm with the other fist.

“Dudes, let go home, I’m starvin’,” whined Beast Boy.

+++++

“This will be your room, for now,” said Robin, gesturing Cipher into a large room. The walls were painted a mosaic of shades of green and blue. The circular bed in the corner was massive. A large desk sat against the other wall. One of the four walls was entirely made of glass that overlooked the bay.

“I don’t know how to begin to thank you for letting me in with such little skepticism, looking at your history with new members,” replied Cipher, looking around the room in awe.

“You can start by taking this.” Robin handed Cipher a round yellow disc of a communicator that the Titans usually used. Cipher turned it over in his hands, inspecting its quality.

“Yellow?”

“Harder to loose.”

“Uh, huh.”

“Come on. Dinner is almost ready. Cy’s cooking tonight, so we know it should be pretty good.”

+++++

Cipher dragged his feet back to his room, clutching his stomach from the cramps. He had been foolish enough to challenge Cyborg to a waffle-eating contest, which he now regretted. His door opened with a hiss and he plopped down on his bead, staring at his ceiling.

‘Something doesn’t seem right’ he thought to himself. ‘Why would a god possess someone to spread their word if they have the Oracles? It makes no sense.’ His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door. He opened the door to see Starfire standing in his doorway.

“Do you want to come and potato the couch with us tonight, Cipher? Beast Boy has rented Wicked Scary again for us to watch.”

“No. Thanks, Star. I’ve had a rough day. That was the first time I had been shot down. My life flashed before my eyes as I fell. That incident with Hotspot.” The door closed without another word being uttered. Cipher walked over to his bed a drifted off to sleep.

[Atoragon]

Here is the next part of my story.

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Chapter 02


“Yo Cipher, how ‘bout a little sparring match between the two of us?” asked Cyborg walking into the lounge. The Titans had just finished lunch and Cipher was doing the dishes.

“Don’t you think that will be a little unfair?” replied Cipher, not looking up from his task.

“Nah, man. I’ll go easy on ya.”

“No. I mean won’t it fair for you.”

“What do ya mean?”

“Us Oracles are the best trained warriors in thee world. The only ones that can defeat one of us in a one-on-one battle is one of our own.”

“How ‘bout me and BB against you?”

“Still wouldn’t be fair. I would probably be able to defeat all five of you guys.”

“Doubt it,” stated Raven, finally looking up from her book and paying attention to the challenge.

“You wanna bet? I’ll take you all on. Right now. Well, not right now. We should probably go up to the roof or outside first before all hell breaks loose.”

“We’ll take your challenge,” replied Cyborg confidently.

“But not right now,” added Beast Boy. He stare was firmly fixed on the TV. “Let me finish this level of Mega Monkeys 4.”

“B, is there anything in your life other than video games and tofu hot dogs?”

“Nope.” Beast Boy still had not looked away from the screen.

“Hey BB!” exclaimed Cipher. “Is that Terra?”

“Where?!” replied Beast Boy frantically, looking away from the screen, just to have his monkey in the video game killed.

“Just kiddin’. Looks like your done with that level.”

“Aww man! I could have made the high score on that level!”

“Just so that I could take back that title tomorrow,” said Cyborg, leaning on the back of the couch with his left arm.

“So are we going to do this or not?” asked Cipher impatiently.

“Fine, let’s go,” said Beast Boy, getting up from the couch, a little annoyed at Cipher’s trick.

“Agreed. Let’s kick the butt,” chimed in Starfire.

+++++

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” asked Robin a little worried. The Titans stood on one end of the roof looking at Cipher, who stood on the other end.

“I won’t back away from my own challenge. The question is: Are you all ready?”

“Born ready.”

“Then let’s start this. I’ll let you make the first move.”

“That’s the worst mistake you could have made.”

“We’ll see about that.” Robin began to charge at Cipher and reached into a pocket in his utility belt and pulled out three explosive discs and threw them at Cipher. The discs flew straight and true, but were swatted out of the sky by an electrical whip conjured by Cipher.

“How’d you do that?”

“Remember? I control electricity. I would have expected, you, Robin, of all people to remember that. Did you even listen to that part?”

“Yo!” yelled Cyborg, this right arm in the form of a sonic blaster, pointed directly at Cipher’s head. “Take a listen to this!” The sonic blaster pulsed and fired. Cipher fired a lightning bolt in return. The two beams impacted and struggled to push the other back. Cipher suddenly stopped his fire and rolled out of the way, letting the sonic beam pass over his head, along with a surprise attack by Robin with his bo staff. Robin swung again, but Cipher caught the swinging staff, although not without a sharp pain passing through his hands and abdomen. Cipher swung the staff, launching Robin into Beast Boy with a grunt.

Suddenly, a barrage of green energy discs came descending from the heavens, fired by Starfire. Cipher jumped out of the way, but he was hit in the leg by a stray bolt. He winced in pain and looked up just in time to see a green tyrannosaurus charging at him. He jumped into the air and landed with the full force of the bo staff on the dinosaur’s head, causing it to crash into the ground. He ran along Beast Boy’s back and jumped off the tip of the tail and flung the staff like a spear at Starfire. The staff flew straight at Starfire, who braced for impact, but it never happened. The staff had bounced harmlessly off of a obsidian shield that had been hastily erected in front of Starfire.

“Nice to see join the battle, Raven,” commented Cipher looking up at the shield. She didn’t answer. “Aren’t you going to answer? Hey, wait, where are you?”

“Why would I tell you?” replied Raven’s disembodied voice. The voice seemed deeper than usual and a lot raspier. Cipher began to look around frantically.

“Where are you?” he demanded.

“Isn’t it you who said a good warrior always conceals their position?”

“Yeah but… this is different.”

“I don’t see it being any different.”

“Raven? This doesn’t sound like you. Are you okay?”

“It’s not me you should be worried about, its you.” The started to sound more like a hiss. Raven emerged from the ground, her eyes glowing a bright red.

“Whoa. Hey, what’s up?”

“The greatest mistake you made was hurting my friends. Look over there.” She nodded towards the other Titans. “Robin has three broken ribs and a broken arm, Beast Boy has multiple skull fractures and a EMP pulse you set off short-circuited most of Cyborg’s auxiliary systems. No one hurts my friends, and for that, you shall pay!” Cipher became enveloped in dark energy. Raven began to thrash him about like a rag doll, using his body like a wrecking ball, and wrecked most of the facilities on the roof.

“Raven! Stop!” yelled Robin holding up his arm, wincing in pain. Raven stopped, a shocked expression came over her face.

“What happened to me?” she asked rubbing her confused.

“You sort of lost it,” replied Cyborg, staggering to stand up. “And in the moment, beat the living daylights out of Cipher.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled to Cipher, rubbing the back of her head.

“I stand corrected,” wheezed Cipher, short of breath. “How bad’s the damage, Cy?”

“My scanners say that your right arm and left leg look like they have been put in a blender. Most of the ribs on your right side have been shattered and three of your vertebrates have been cracked. Other than that, you seem okay.”

“How long?”

“How long for what?”

“Till I’m healed.”

“With the addition of the nanodromes I’m going to have to inject into you, I’d give it ‘bout a week.” Cipher nodded a ‘thank you’ before falling into unconsciousness.

[Atoragon]

Next part

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Chapter 03

Cipher woke with a shock. He was back in his room, instead of in the infirmary. He was trembling and his palms were sweating. He had been having the same vision ever since he fell unconscious. Pain, Death, Suffering. He looked over to clock, 5:30 AM. He needed some air, so he went to roof to watch the sunrise.

“Why are you out of bed? You should be resting. What brings you up here so early in the morning anyway?” asked a raspy voice from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Raven walking towards him.

“I was about to ask you the same question. How long has it been since I met you guys, Raven? Two weeks?”

“10 days.”

“Close enough.”

“So, why did you leave Aerkusto if it as good as you say?” asked Raven, changing the subject.

“I didn’t leave on my own free will.”

“You were banished?”

“No. I was sent here on a mission. The high priests believe that Ralivar, my people’s God of Darkness, is regaining his power. I was sent here to find his Oracle. They believe that Ralivar will try to cause The Stage of Apocalypse, and his Oracle is his key to stopping him.”

“What’s The Stage of Apocalypse?”

“According to the religious texts, The Stage of Apocalypse is the final war between the Gods. A war to decide the fate of mankind. Whether it will live on in harmony or face… total annihilation.”

“And why is this Oracle you seek the key?”

“The Oracle of Ralivar is the only one to have ever defeated Ralivar with little or no help. When Ralivar made his last appearance, it was his Oracle that stopped him. I seek this Oracle to find out the key to defeating Ralivar once and for all.”

“When was Ralivar’s last appearance?”

“The high priests only told me it was recently, but not how recent. It could have been a month ago, a year ago, a century ago.”

“So we are looking for a person who we don’t even know what they look like to stop the end of the world, which could happen at any time now.”

“Not quite. I think I have found the person I am looking for. You see, I’ve read a small, little known part of the religious texts that stated that in Azieraraton, or God’s Realm, the inhabitants spoke of a demon whose description matched that of Ralivar. That demon’s name was… Trigon.”

“So you think I am this Oracle that you are in search of and Trigon is one of your gods?”

“Pretty much. I am not one hundred percent sure, but it’s the closest I’ve gotten to finding the Oracle that I seek. So yeah, we’ll go with that. It makes perfect sense. Trigon would choose his own daughter to be his Oracle”

“And you want me to tell you how I defeated him.”

“That would be nice.”

“It was a one time only event. The sort of power that I unlocked can never be tapped into again. I’m sorry I cannot help you.”

“So we are back at square one on trying to figure out how to defeat Trigon, but at least I found the Oracle, so that will help some.”

“How will that help us?”

“You and the rest of the Titans have experience fighting Trigon. You know his fighting style. You know his weaknesses. Come on let’s go get some breakfast. I think it is about time you cooked.”

“The last time and only time I cooked, it was a complete and total failure.”

“Is it possible because you didn’t know how?”

“I guess.”

“So I think its time you learned.”

“You really think so?”

“Why not?”

+++++

“I think my stomach is trying to eat through my gut to get out of me,” garbled Cipher, leaning over the trashcan.

“Told you I couldn’t cook,” replied Raven looking at the floor. Cyborg and Beast Boy enter the room discussing the video game tournament they wanted to hold, but suddenly stopped.

“What are you trying to do?!” yelled Cyborg.

“Kill him?!” added Beast Boy.

“It’s okay guys,” replied Cipher, rolling onto the floor. “It was my idea.”

“Just as long as you keep us out of it.”

“Well then, I guess I am the only guinea pig in this little teaching experiment. Now where to start?” Cipher got up off the ground and walked towards the stove, inspecting the settings. “Try reducing the heat and increasing cook time. Lay back on the pancake mix. Oh, and don’t start reading and not paying attention to the food.”

“Okay. I will try not to kill you this time.”

“That’ll have to wait. Look at this!” yelled Cyborg from the window. Cipher and Raven ran over to window and looked at what Cyborg was pointing at. A large black and red disc hovered above the Jump City skyline. Red lightning struck out from the center.

“It’s a portal… for him,” deadpanned Raven.

“So here it begins. The Stage of Apocalypse.”

[Atoragon]

Next part, again.

Chapter 04


The Titans stood on their roof, petrified at what they saw.

“So how long do you think before Trigon can come through?” asked Beast Boy worriedly.

“Judging by how fast it is expanding, I’d give it five minutes, tops,” relied Cyborg.

“This doesn’t seem right. Ralivar’s power levels are way too high for it to be him,” groaned Cipher.

“I sense it too,” added Raven. The portal began to fluctuate and the lightning amount increased exponentially. “He’s coming.”

“We’ll just beat him like we beat him before!” yelled Robin.

“No. You don’t get it. Ralivar’s power level is at least five times greater then the time you beat him before, “deadpanned Cipher.

“Then what chance do we have?” asked Cyborg. The portal began to spit and hiss. From the darkness emerged Trigon.

“Cyborg, I lied to you.”

“About what?”

“I have another ‘side effect’. I, like Raven, am a portal for a god, although I am a portal on my own free will. I have to go through with it. I have to unleash Spirnak. He is the only one who has a chance against Trigon, albeit a small one.” Then Trigon spoke up, noticing the Titans.

“Daughter dearest, it’s so nice to see you again,” said Trigon sarcastically. “Although I still haven’t forgiven you for banishing me. I see you have made a new friend.” Cipher began to hiss something in Aerkustan at Trigon.

“Ralivar, vas ins Azieramorkan makhen anata khening hora?”

“Ihra geht hai ver ins orfai hai kei ratu gestiran.”

“Her anata nehmt diesis auren?”

“Ihra kei Aziera toten. Ta’rikunen, Garudan, Aegirius, Raixernon. Auf toten.”

“What in hell are you two saying?” demanded Beast Boy of Cipher. Cipher turned around slowly.

“He killed them. He killed them all. All of the Gods minus himself and Spirnak are dead. That explains how he got his power. If a god were to defeat another god, they would gain all their power.”

“Whoa.”

“I have to avenge their deaths without mercy. Go. Get to a safe place. This is about to get very messy.”

“We’re not going to leave you behind,” stated Cyborg.

“Very well.” Cipher turned back and jumped off the roof of Titans Tower. When he had fallen two-thirds of the way down, Cipher let go of all his thoughts. Symbols along his whole body began to glow a bright blue. A tornado of electrical energy erupted where Cipher fell.

When the tornado dissipated, there stood Spirnak. He was a huge, muscular, dinosaur resembling creature. He was easily 400 feet tall. His skin was a dark, mottled navy blue and razor sharp horns crowned his head and forearms. All down his back were huge spines of solid diamond and at the end of his long tail was a 4-pronged barb, also of solid diamond.

“So I see Spirnak has arrived,” taunted Trigon. “The last thing that stands in my way between me and universal domination is a mere hundred yards away.”

"Dude!" exclaimed Beast Boy. "This is so cool! Cy! Grab some popcorn and sodas! We've got front row seats for the monster battle of the century!"

__________________________________________________________________________
So yeah. All hell is about to break loose in a Godzilla-like battle for human kind. This is going to get very messy as Cipher said. But would someone please explain to me why there are no replies? I know people are reading from the views totals. Oh, and if anyone wants the conversation between Trigon and Cipher translated from Aerkustan to English, just ask.

[Glensather]

...there aren't going to be seven nuclear bombs that will go off in rapid succession, right? Cause, you know, that level was annoying after the first one goes off... stupid EMP...

Anywho, I demand that you continue, or whatnot. I'm not a big fan of OCs, but this one seems to be working out just fine.

And your language resembles Belkan... or German. Whatever.

Okay, that's all with the ACZ references.

[Atoragon]

Actually, yes. Aerkustan is sort of a mix of German, Japanese, Belkan and other random sounds. And hey I am kinda of new with this internet slang, so can someone tell me what in hell OCs means? Also, there will be no seven nuclear bombs, but imagine the destructive force of those bombs in a different and more concentrated form (big lasers and such, no, not related to ACZ).

[Atoragon]

One other thing: the Cipher is this story is no where related to the Cipher in ACZ, they just happen to have the same name. I should really think of a new name for this bugger.

[Atoragon]

This is the rest of Chapter 04. I hope to have Chapter 05 up later today or tommorow. So here we go.

___________________________________________________________________

“Uh, B? I don’t think you understand the magnitude of this battle. If Cipher loses, we’re all going to be annihilated!”

“So lets enjoy our last moments on Earth. Oh, wait, that totally came out the wrong way.”

“Damn right, you little snot ball!” Beast Boy drops his popcorn and runs as Cyborg chases him, trying to strangle him.

“Will you two stop acting like idiots!” screeched Raven. She had that ‘I will tear you limb from limb’ look on her face.

“She’s right,” said Robin looking over his shoulder at the three Titans. “We’ve got to focus on the situation at hand. It’s our duty to save the city. We can’t just be spectators. We have got to help in this fight.”

“Dude! Look at the size of those guys!” complained Beast Boy. “We’ll get smashed like insects before we can actually do anything to help!”

“Then I suggest you stay away from their feet,” chided Raven. Beast Boy opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a thunderous roar that sounded like a mix between a clap of thunder and the horn of a commercial supertanker. The Titans all turned to see Spirnak was already across the bay, locked in a stare down with Trigon. Robin then gave the faithful rallying call of the Titans, knowing very well it could be the last one he gave.

“Titans, Go!”

[Atoragon]

Sorry to those waiting for Chapter 05. I have badly imjured my right elbow and now writing is a long, painful task. Expect a few more days for Chapter 05 to be posted.

[Atoragon]

Here the next part, sorry for being late.

___________________________________________________________________

Chapter 05

Spirnak roared again and charged at Trigon, the large horn on his head being brought to bear. Trigon sidestepped, grabbed Spirnak’s throat, and squeezed.

‘I can’t loose now. This fights just started. I have to fight, for the fallen gods, for the people of this Earth, for the Titans, for… Raven.’ Cipher thought of this for a moment, ‘For Raven.’ He had to accept it to himself that he had ‘the feelings’ as Starfire called them. He refused to admit this, saying that it would interfere with his work. His thoughts lingered as long as they could, but his vision was beginning to fade, black spots appeared in his vision.

As if a guardian angel had been listening to him, in his final seconds, he was able to glimpse a blur of purple, red and orange. A faint snap could be heard and the world around him rushed back in. Trigon had released his grip, now focused on his nose, from which cascaded a waterfall of dark blood and stuck out at the wrong angle.

“Yo, Buddy!” called Cyborg from a nearby rooftop. “Who said you could start this party without us?” Cyborg’s attention switched to Starfire, who hovered over Spirnak’s left shoulder. “Hey Star! Way to whack him!”

“Do you think I let him have too much?” asked Starfire, looking upon the waterfall she had caused.

“Nah, he deserved that much,” replied Beast Boy, landing next to Cyborg, changing back into a human from an eagle. Spirnak nodded a ‘thank you’ before turning back to Trigon, who had also regained his composure.

The spines on Spirnak’s began to crackle and glow eerily as an electrical charge built up inside. Trigon’s eyes began to glow a deep red as the dark energy rays gained power. Spirnak rolled his head back and with a jolt, thrust his head forward, opening his mouth from which a powerful lightning bolt erupted. Trigon released his energy rays, which shot from his eyes in a fiery red lance. The two beams impacted, pushing against each other, but to no avail.

Trigon then noticed a new target, hovering just above Spirnak’s right shoulder. He adverted the rays’ aim at the new target, which struck Raven, slamming her into a nearby building.

‘No! Raven!’ screamed Cipher in his mind. He watched her limb body fall to the ground, either unconscious or dead.

“Aww, did I hit a soft spot in your armor?” asked Trigon in a faux sympathetic tone. “Should I just kill her now and take away your only reason to fight? Seeing as I don’t need her anymore. Since I have all this extra power, I don’t need her to bring me to this realm. I can form my own portals.”

Spirnak stared back at Trigon. Rage consumed his soul. He roared again, even louder and lashed out with a mighty tail swipe. The attack knocked Trigon through the air until he crashed down in the bay near the island on which the ‘T’ shaped building stood, creating a ten-foot tidal wave that crashed against the nearby beaches, sending spectators fleeing. Trigon stood and stared back at the approaching Spirnak.

“Rae, you okay?” asked Cyborg, helping the still disoriented Raven to her feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” replied Raven in a weak voice.

“You know, you getting hit with that laser may actually been a good thing,” joked Beast Boy. “Cipher over there went into like a Rage Mode or something right after Trigon was done taunting about he was going to kill you and remove Cipher’s only reason to keep fighting.”

“Hmm.” Raven pondered this thought, then walked over to Beast Boy and slapped him in the back of the head. “I don’t think that’s something to joke about.”

Trigon reached behind him, and grabbed Titans Tower, ripping it clear of the ground. He turned back around and swung the Tower violently towards Spirnak’s head. With a single slash from an electron sword summoned from the horn on his arm, Spirnak sliced the Tower cleanly in two, removing its threat as a weapon.

Trigon was stunned by the counter-strike, staggering back a few steps when the tower pretty much exploded in his hands. Spirnak turned around, bringing his tail up in front of Trigon. With a lash, he impaled the razor-sharp barb on the tip of his tail deep into Trigon’s abdomen. Then, using his entire body like a catapult, launched Trigon off the tip of his tail and flying back into the city.

Trigon impacted the Wayne Enterprises and fell to the ground with a thud. The building itself began to creak before collapsing on top of demon.

Trigon stood on weak legs and looked down the street at where Spirnak stood. A look of pure hatred for Trigon adorned his face. The spines on his back began to crackle and glow once more, but they did not stop at when they did before. The spines continued to collect energy until they shone brighter than the sun itself. With a simple opening of his mouth, Spirnak cast the finishing blow. A massive beam of super-dense electricity erupted from Spirnak’s mouth and flew towards Trigon. Trigon did not even make any attempt to stop or evade the beam. It was simply too powerful. The beam passed over Trigon, disintegrating him on the spot. Nothing remained but a few cinders.

Spirnak roared in triumph before he himself fell over on his face. He had fallen unconscious from the enormous exertion of energy. The tornado erupted where he fell, leaving Cipher in his crater, but when the Titans got to the crater, they feared it was too late.

Cipher lay on his back, unconscious. He breathing was faint. Cyborg could barely make out a pulse. He shook his head with dismay.

“Sorry, ya’ll. There’s nothing I can do. The damage is way too extensive. It will take divine intervention to keep him from dying.” A single tear could be seen rolling down Raven’s face. As if someone had been listening to Cyborg, Cipher’s body began to glow and was teleported away.

“Where’d he go?” asked Beast Boy.

“To a better place,” replied Starfire, looking at her feet.

[Atoragon]

Here's the final chapter.

____________________________________________________________________

Chapter 06

“Look. He’s coming around,” said a voice standing Cipher. Cipher could voices talking above him, but he couldn’t recognize any of them, mostly because he was still in a daze.

“It looks as if the healing was successful,” came a woman’s voice.

“Oww, my head,” said Cipher, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head with his right hand.

“It’s so good to hear your voice again, Holy Oracle,” said a third man.

“High Priest Drakar?”

“Yes.”

“Where am I? What is this place,” asked Cipher, looking around at his surroundings. He was in a circular room with a high ceiling. Strange religious markings were on the wall. He could only recognize half of them.

“You are in Azarath,” replied the woman, looking him in the eyes. Cipher just stared back with a seemingly blank, yet utterly confused expression.

“I believe you would know it better as Azieraraton, Holy Oracle,” added Drakar, noticing Cipher’s confusion.

“From what I heard from Raven, Azarath was destroyed by Trigon. And yet, here I am supposedly in Azarath. This must be sort weird sort of hallucination.”

“Trust me Holy Oracle, this is no hallucination. When you defeated Trigon once and for all, everything he destroyed was reborn to how it was before he destroyed it.”

“Does that mean Raven’s okay?”

“Yes, she is fine.”

“You know Raven?” asked the woman.

“Yeah,” replied Cipher. “We’re both on the Teen Titans. Why do you ask?”

“I… am her mother, Arella.”

“So Raven thought Azarath was destroyed, and its not anymore, and she thought her mother was dead, yet she is standing right in front of me. Uhh… Raven’s going to have kittens when she hears this.”

“How can she have kittens if she is not a cat?” asked the other man.

“Ivanovich, you have never been really good with the American clichés, have you?” Cipher then turned his attention back to Arella and Drakar. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to go home now.”

“Cipher,” warned Arella. “Your not completely healed. Your limbs are still in a state of atrophy. You’ll need at least a week before you can walk properly again.” As if he was not listening, Cipher got out of the bed, but fell to his knees because of the atrophy.

“It wasn’t a question. I’d like to return to Earth today.”

“Well it seems you are quite a stubborn boy, and there is no way to change your decision. Take this.” Arella handed Cipher a strange cane. On the end was the body of a raven, its wings outstretched. Religious markings similar to those on the wall ran down the sides of the shaft. “It will help you prove to Raven that you were here and that you talked to me. Now I guess you’ll be off now.”

“Yeah. Thanks,” said Cipher as he propped himself up with the cane. “Uhh… where’s the door back to Earth?”

“Ohh.” Arella waved her hand in a circular motion. A portal back to Earth opened up in front of her. “Here’s your doorway home. Say hello to Raven for me.”

“Thanks. I will.” Cipher passed through the doorway home.

_________________________________________________________________

This probably leaves you with more questions than before, but that's okay. I will be writing something like a new season for Teen Titans that takes place after this. It will be titled "Teen Titans X: Season 1". I know the title is pretty unoriginal, but it will work. I plan to delve into the past and uncover some secrets behind Cipher and the Oracles. The identity of the other Oracles will also be revealed in due time.

[Oh look I'm...]

I posted on your other thread but completely forgot that I should've posted here too!!:o

Overall, it was a quick, decent story. No, I'm kidding: it was awesome!!!! I wouldn't get too arrogant about it, though, if I were you. Basically, Cipher's a dude with, at best, connections to Azarath (thus allowing him to connect with Raven) and defeats the big bad Trigon once and for all. As a story, it was cool to read. As a Teen Titans fanfiction, it wasn't.

Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy played little or no part in the story's plot, other than questioning Cipher or, in Beast Boy's case, giving Cipher something to make fun with Raven about. Did that make any sense?:o :sweat: Anyhooz, to be honest, I didn't really see Raven and Cipher connect in a way that made my heart leap. There've been only a few characters made on this forum that've done that, one in particular.

The action kicked butt! You combined the right amount of suspense with cool writing that made the "fight scene" very enjoyable. Even though I liked the story as a whole, I utterly loathed the last chapter (Ch 6). Don't get me wrong: the writing was excellent, but the content was appalling. High Priest Drakar? Arella's alive? WTF! "This is no hallucination."

Probably because you severely digressed from the Teen Titans, or whatever. Maybe I was just in a hyper-bad mood when I read that chapter. It's not really your fault. I liked the story as a whole, please understand that.

I look forward to more and more of your work!!:D

PS- The "WTF" mentioned earlier is not a bad "WTF"
PPS- Me saying "I no likey the last chappy!!1!" is not a criticism of your writing. In fact, it says more about my tastes than your talent. Please don't be offended.

[Atoragon]

I am in no way offended. The whole point of that story was simply that fight scene. The only reason for the final chapter was to act as a link between it and "Season 1" and some of its earlier episodes. I acatually WANTED some people to say how bad this story was about this story i quickly whipped up that was based primarily on Cipher and Rae. The crap i was saying about Cipher+Rae will really come in later. This was merely a small crush thing that leads to stronger emotions.

[RavensDragon]

Great storys!:raven:

[Atoragon]

I acatually WANTED some people to say how bad this story was about this story i quickly whipped up that was based primarily on Cipher and Rae.

You were supposed to diss my story

Great storys!:raven:

and this isnt it.

[Matt A]

Just this once, I shall have to dissapoint. I actually thought this was okay. Not a masterpiece, I admit, but still a good read.:)

On a technical level, this was very impressive. Your descriptions were clear and evocative, your vocabulary use was intelligent (ie, you didn't sound like you'd just swallowed a theasaurus), your spelling and grammar is, if not perfect, then at least very capable. All basic stuff, I know, but it's basic stuff like this that seperates new writers with potential from new writers who should leave the art well alone.;)

Also, I quite like Cipher. As OCs (original characters: well, you did ask ;)) go, I admit he's not so original, but he was certainly well-written. Quick-witted, knowledgable, determined and amiable, yet by no means a Mary-Sue, needing to call on a god to save the day, and nearly dying for his troubles: in other words, a good and heroic person, yet not unrealistically flawless. And I'm willing to overlook the Raven aspect, seeing as you admitted yourself that it's a bit of a cliche, and besides, it can be quite effective if done well. You don't seem to be using it as an excuse for fanwankery, at any rate,;) Oh yes, and having an emissary of the gods be a mere fighter pilot/special-ops guy, instead of a mage or similarly related occupation, is an interesting take on this kind of issue. If that makes any sense.

Still, I said this weren't a masterpiece. And, frankly, it's not. The big problem here is one very writer has to deal with when the start out, whether in fan-fiction or original works: pacing. Simply put, a story about gods and oracles, the return of Trigon and a battle for the fate of the world has to be longer than a mere six chapters. I mean, that kind of subject matter speaks for itself, but drawing things out invariably builds up the drama and suspence. Considering the story is finished, I suppose this is irrelevant, but there were plenty of ways you could've extended it. For example, Trigon could have a cult of followers preparing his arrival, or someone could come to Cipher with news of the massacre of the other gods, or one of the Titans could start doubting him and get him ejected from the group. The more problems you throw in a hero's way, the more we want them to succeed, and the sweeter the eventual victory will be.:)

When I say "pacing", I also mean it in a more direct, fundamental sense. I spent the entire of my first year at university having one of my lecturers ceaselessly drum the "show not tell" rule into my head, and whilst thinking about it still drives me into a berserk rage, I have to confess that she was right. In case you don't know what I'm implying, I'll just say this bluntly: a lot of the events in your story were described way too briefly. A lot were done very competently, I admit, but a flat piece of description is invariably off-putting. For example, the line

Arella waved her hand in a circular motion. A portal back to Earth opened up in front of her.

mentions something very interesting and important, but in such a "bla" way that I have a hard time caring about it. A event like this needs at least a paragraph or so, with a growing disc of black energy, crackling magical forces, an ominous glow from within, perhaps a view of somewhere on Earth on the other side, etc etc etc. You don't need to overboard, page-long descriptions of someone going to the fridge or anything like that, but it an event is important, then give it enough space for us to imagine exactly what happened. It's a tight-rope, I admit, and we don't always get it right, but as a general rule, if a sentence seems flat, then it probably is.

That, I think, is my ten pence. Don't be dis-heartened by anything I've said. You're an intelligent writer, and you've got great potential, but you just need to practise. For a newbie, you've done very well already, and there's a lot more you can achieve.;):D

-Matt A-

[Atoragon]

I feel honored. *bows down at Matt A's feet*

I will have to say that i completely agree with you. To tell you the truth, this is the first thing I have actually wanted to write since when I was in second grade. I have to admit that I have never been really good at writing long, descriptive things. Usually my writing it short and to the point, but I have been working on making my writing more descriptive.

Again, I feel honored. *bows at Matt A's feet, again*

[Matt A]

You don't need to bow. It gives me quite a happy that you do, but nonetheless, I'm just here to lend a helping hand.;)

Truth be told, I kinda like my writing to-the-point as well: 10 million-word chapters tend to piss me off. But yes, there's a limit to how far you can compress something.;)

-Matt A-