DOTDF: Well, now I've seen pretty much everything related to the teen titans story, however I choose not to observe the "Terra?" episode.
Dragons: Hear hear!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the dragons, Drake, Seru, and any heartless I make up.
Chapter 8: The Speed of Darkness
"Drake? Drake? Wake up." The titans had managed to collect themselves and had rushed to where Drake now lay. He was breathing, but very little. The Keyblade had vanished, taking its darkness with it "Raven." Robin said, "Get Drake to the infirmary. That area is still intact and it has a backup generator in a bad case like this."
"I'll go with her," said Spirit, "just in case his darker aspect still holds sway. By the way..." she turned to Beast Boy, "I believe your friend here has more pressing matters you need to attend to."
And now Beast Boy became frantic. "That's right! We have to save her!" he said. "Who?" asked Starfire.
"TERRA! They're going to smash her!" he yelled.
"WHAT?" the rest of the titans yelled in surprise. "When I heard Spirit talk about the prophecy, I went to my room to think on it, and Terra just popped in my head. I thought how she could be the earth Chosen, and when that creepy guy got into our heads he saw it. I just know he's going to go after her. We have to stop him!"
"With how long we had to deal with those cats, we'll never make it in time!" said Cyborg.
'Yes you will. You'll just have to move faster.' and now Sister Shadow stepped forward.
'Sis...' said Glimmer, 'you're not really going to...'
'We don't really have a choice.' Sister Shadow said grimly.
Sister Shadow walked outside and the titans followed her. 'Where exactly is Terra?' She asked.
"In a cave in a park at the center of the city." Robin answered.
'Thank you.' said Sister Shadow.
And now her eyes went dead white and a dark beam shot from her and hit the shadow of the tower. The shadow began to ripple and the titans began to lose themselves gazing into the dark pool that had now formed.
Sister Shadow saw them and cracked her tail like a whip. The titans immediately snapped out of the trance.
'I would advise against staring.' Sister Shadow said flatly.
"What is it?" asked Beast Boy.
'It is a doorway,' Sister Shadow replied, 'an entrance into the Shadowpath.'
"Shadowpath?" said Starfire.
'A interdimensional highway, created by the Heartless.' Said Sister Shadow, 'It is how they travel from shadow to shadow. There is a sort of time displacement within it. A few minutes in there is a second out here. Through it you can travel as fast as the Heartless.'
The eyes of the titans widened in shock as they heard this.
'Now…' Sister Shadow continued, 'this method has some drawbacks. One: I cannot travel with you through this path until I've bonded with my Chosen, so I cannot help you through it. Two: This is the path Heartless travel, and in it you may encounter them, perhaps even ones my family and I have not seen before. Now you have a better chance of avoiding detection if there are fewer of you, so any of you who would do better here should stay.'
"I should probably stay then." Said Cyborg, "I would be easy to spot there and anyway I should probably start repairing the Tower before it collapses."
'I'll stay with him.' Said Brother Fire, 'I can probably help with some of the welding.' He added with a wink and a puff of flame.
"Well alright then! Let's see whatcha' got! C'mon!" Said Cyborg, and Brother Fire went bounding after him as he went back into the tower.
'And finally…' said Sister Shadow, 'you have to move fast.'
"Why?" asked Starfire.
'Well aside from the fact that you have to reach Terra in time…' said Sister Shadow with a twinge of annoyance in her voice, 'that realm twists the hearts of those who stay there too long. You have a chance however because you've bonded with Glimmer Starfire, because you are of the light it will shield you and your friends for a time, but you will gradually feel the effects if you don't move fast.'
"Well let's go, then!" said Beast Boy, who then jumped into the pool, and sank out of sight.
"Alright!" said Starfire. Then she and Glimmer jumped in.
'Oh no you don't!' said Sister Water, 'This time I stay with you brother!' and she dived in after Glimmer.
'Well, here we go…' thought Robin, and he too followed.
In a second Robin was enveloped in darkness. Darkness so dense he could see nothing around him. The darkness was so powerful it began to pervade his thoughts. It bored into his mind, replaying horrific scenes he had witnessed. It showed him his darkest fears that had come to pass…and the ones that still could. He saw the death of his parents, the lives he couldn't save, and he saw the team disbanding, his friends being cut down, and it cumulated in a terrified scream, followed by that which he had never wanted to see…her body, lying in a pool of blood. He screamed in horror and sorrow, and now he saw it headed toward him, that horrible visage. That terrible mask and that horrible, evil eye. And from that horrible mask that had plagued his deepest nightmares opened a gaping maw that threatened to swallow him whole.
Suddenly a light appeared between him and the mask, A light that burned forth and melted the darkness away.
"Wha…" Robin began.
"Do not worry," came her voice, "I will not let them hurt you. We have protected each other for a long time and I will not leave you now!"
"Starfire…thank you"
"Never a problem."
And with that he found himself by her side. He first looked at the others. They too were shaken up, but he noticed that Beast Boy looked like he was in as bad shape as he had been.
"Beast Boy…you okay?" Robin asked.
"Yeah…" Beast Boy said in a low voice.
"You…saw it too, huh?"
"Yeah…I take it you saw Starfire?"
"Yeah…"
The two looked at each other and an understanding of each other's pain went between them.
"Come on then," said Robin, "let's go save her."
"Right…" Said Beast Boy.
And now they looked around. They were floating in darkness that seemed to be everywhere, except at points that the titans could only describe as windows. Through those windows, they could see parts of their city. Now they had to find the one that led to where they could get to Terra.
Welcome to the review club Silver Mystic and to everyone, sorry for taking so unbearably long.
Next Chapter: Pitch-Black Sneak Attack