Standard disclaimer of ownership and properties apply readily.

TT--

Chapter 9

-

Robin cradled Starfire's body in his arms.

He breathed.

He chuckled a bit.

"I'm……..'breathing'……"

He paused. Deafening silence.

"………………it's actually really something, you know………"

Black bolts, shadows, and the light.

……………the moon shall burn…………and burn……………and burn…………

"……heh…but the sun won't freeze……that's enough for me…….and for this city……everyone will be satisfied with that……"

………………freeeeeeeze……

He winced slightly, and shut his eyes painfully.

"Shut…shut up… The sun won't freeze, that's the last thing I'll promise, and I won't break that promise even if my nerves will be torn and stripped like friggin' bacon…" He reached a hand to brush the girl's red bangs that rained around her delicate features, but abruptly stopped.

"……heh, I think I did enough damage for one adventure….."

He curled his fingers.

He extended them.

He 'breathed' cold vapor, as did Starfire.

Robin glanced at the girl's form.

"…………………………..no, not yet……………I won't let everything just end like this. I said I'll finish this, and I will. That's the only way a promise should go, it's my contract and biding agreement between us, Star. This whole ordeal will be finished in the way the Teen Titans will do it…… as Cyborg might say: everything will go out with a bang, and it'll be the loudest and most groovy bang ever……"

He glanced aside and saw his bo-staff. His lips curled into a deep frown.

"……I'm so sorry, Starfire. I used that weapon to hurt you all……I just remembered everything that happened during my inter-hostile takeover…some leader I am……fallen prey to non-existing demons………though, hehe, there's a demon inside me, now………heh, it's actually a lot worse than I thought it would be……just how does Raven cope with it?"

T-T-T-

Beast roared as he transformed into a hawk and soared into the sky.

Cyborg gave a warcry as he ran and dodged multiple beams from the aerial beast of shadows.

Raven hovered, her powers in full effect, flaring on all sides with cosmic black energy.

Above them all, beast included, Hel opened her arms, and drank in the excitement of the battle.

'I've been having nightmares constantly since my arrival, no, even before my arrival here in Jump. It's always the same thing, over and over again. Like a carousel version of my biography out in video, and fixated on the repeat button in my head. And there's a script to those nightmares as well, and I've about memorized everything about those incomprehensible dreams, if, you can even call those visions dreams.'

Hel smiled as she commanded the bat to ascend, baiting Beast Boy to follow. Once the green hawk was in distant, she whipped around and shot her liquidly arm into the changeling's neck, knocking the boy back into the grounds below.

Cyborg shot another beam of his sonic cannon, but his circuits suddenly pulsed and he shook with pain before he knelt down.

Hel saw the opening and commanded the bat to attack the immobilized android with a mouthful blast of black waves.

Said android lifted his head to watch the approaching attack with a look of defiance, instead, mane of violet blocked his vision and a black shield enveloped the front.

The shield shattered, causing some of the beams to reflect.

Raven glared at Cyborg.

He smirked.

'Sometimes, I still wonder about the reasons that motivated me to establish the Teen Titans……because in reality, we're just a bunch of orphaned ghetto, cape crusader hypocrites, ex-except for you, y-your highness, hehehe. Why did I describe it like that? I'm not really certain myself, it's just the way I think things over. If I can just assuredly diminish our own image, then I can spirit myself to head up the hills. To go beyond what humanity and natural instincts standardize for me. That's what I want, and what I've always wanted.'

Raven shot her hand towards the air. The hand pulsated with black energy and showered forth to the conniving woman with an utterly powerful force.

The shadow bat swirled to the side, flipping and flapping, and avoided the ball of dark easily.

Raven's eyes narrowed, and she clenched her hands.

The ball of dark stopped midair, and exploded into blades at random directions.

The bat shrieked as one blade severed its left wing.

Hel frowned as the creature lost its equilibrium and flight. She smirked.

Suddenly, she shot her arm forward. The woman's arm once again became moldy, but now it transformed into a dark mass of shadows, and merged with the missing wing of the bat creature.

Raven frowned as the aerial monster took flight once more.

Hel giggled and blew Raven a kiss.

'………I'm saying all of this to you now, Starfire, is because when you regain your consciousness, I probably won't be here to repeat myself. You're my best friend Star, no single doubt lingering at all. It's you who I laugh with; it's you who gives me much strength to continue pushing and moving; and it's you who I want to remain living for……but that's not possible anymore. I'm harboring more death and shadows than I ever thought I would be……literally. And I believe I have to disappear before those darker sides get loose again……and the best option for that is for me to meet the Crimson Delight, and have the most profound chat with the devil in vigilante history.'

The dimension shifted and sizzled, seemingly on the verge of collapse. Beast Boy had to shake his head out of the reverie of the hypnotizing effects it almost had.

Cyborg ran as blast after blast of energy chased him down a circle path he created. Sparks flew as he held a hand precariously over his shoulder, while cursing and yelping.

A bolt flew overhead, and zipped down to strike the android squarely on the forehead.

He knelt, and panted.

Another shot of red.

Cyborg grinned, and shot a rocket hand towards a far end, gripped at a piece of pillar, and reeled himself away.

The attack missed, and he counterattacked with his cannon and struck the beast away, which made Hel stumble and fall.

During her descent, Hel wiggled herself forward, ready to extend her arms toward the ground in an attempt to slow her acceleration.

She gasped as a green hawk flew next to her.

Beast Boy transformed into a snake and coiled himself around the woman's waist, attempting to restrict her.

His slit eyes of a snake widened as the woman's body deluged into pieces of body masses and dispersed into the wide area.

He shrieked in elfin form as Hel's head giggled madly, apart from her body.

'……I have to apologize to you, again, Starfire. This whole city is descending into a proverbial version of hell too quickly for us to handle, but……with all of you around, this city might still have a fighting chance. Because I believe you and all of the others can still rescue everyone. You're powerful and cheerful, that's a combination of personality that I envy. I'm neither powerful and neither am I cheerful, it's just not in my humanity, because humanity is weak, there's no doubt about it. And that is why I've always fought harder, so I can prove to the world that humanity is not as fragile as some believe it to be…as I believed it to be…'

Hel lunged forward towards the ground as her body began converging once more, and her eyes glowed distinctively red when she reappeared.

Raven glared at the sickening woman for a whole moment before her eyes glowed with the dark powers of the Sacred Daughter.

A beat.

The blonde monster raised her hand as waves of red energy coursed like a tidal wave.

Raven frowned and a shield surrounded her, and shattered as it defended her from the assault.

She then raised her hand, and countered with black needles.

Hel did not attempt to avoid the sharp energy attacks, having them merely penetrate her body and to recover just as quickly.

Raven raised her other hand, which glowed slightly grey.

The moldy woman raised an eyebrow before realizing the needles were still present in her clayish form.

Raven clenched her hand.

FLASH!

'It's never been easy with all of this. Life and death, I mean. Whether to fear it or accept it………and I've been too unconcerned about this matter……for far too long. I ……I need to disappear, for your sake and especially my own. But this……is all drabble talk now. I need to return what you gave in exchange for my mind, though only for a brief moment. My sanity for the cost of your life, is not worth the trade. Black bolts and light…………………heh…what a funny jazz……'

Hel withered in pain as a magnificent glow of grey and black pierced through her form.

The woman staggered to remain balanced, but was spontaneously tossed to the air as a gorilla gripped her by the arm, and flung her like a rock.

A sonic cannon immediately followed that, and a miniature firework took place in the aerial battleground.

Cyborg stood, with his arm posed, for another moment before he collapsed on the ground, kneeling.

He panted, grunted, then muttered 'booya'.

An elfin Beast Boy looked around with wide eyes, darting his field of vision constantly around.

Raven's power ceased.

She removed her hood.

Silently, she paced her way to the injured Cyborg.

Beast Boy yelped, catching the other two's attention.

The scenery of vortex and whirlpools slowly solidified, and slowly condensed into series of architecture. Pillars erected. Gardens appeared. Trees of oak and maple. A swingset, dangling from a branch of a tree.

A wind traveled by.

But it still smelled of blood.

And now it also smelled of roses.

Cyborg looked to Raven, and his lips parted for an inquiry.

A child appeared from behind a pillar.

Her blonde hair traveled with the wind, and she giggled innocently as she ran without her shoes.

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. Swiftly, he jogged in front of Raven and Cyborg.

He gestured to the child, who now ignored them and ran off to the swing.

Cyborg grunted, and tried to stand.

He stopped as a pale hand rested on his shoulder.

Raven, blue hair traveling with the wind, walked toward the child, hoodless.

T-T-T-

Robin gingerly raised a hand over Starfire's forehead.

He 'breathed' once more, and his eyes welded shut.

He coughed.

"Hah…….! So many things to say…….but with absolutely no time to spare………curse you………curse all of you."

His body shuddered and he withdrew the hand.

Black bolts, shadows, and the light.

The moon was heating……

Robin placed the hand over his eyes, and he slowly allowed a grin to show.

"………Just what did I do…….ha, this Terra Firma………Star?"

He gazed at the Tamaranian's form sadly.

The girl laid peacefully, like a creature slipping into a snow of hibernation.

Her red hair glistened.

Her lips allowed the small puffs of cold vapor.

The cold vapor was ironically the sign of her life dwindling.

Robin's sides convulsed.

Trembling, he raised his fingers to his eyes.

Slowly, his eyes showed a glow of crimson, and it remained, unwavering.

He 'breathed'.

He clasped his hand around Starfire's.

"See you at the threshold of………of something, I suppose. Where I'm going, you're never going to be able to follow, it's somewhere that the good doesn't go to. I wish I could have finished my story……"

Bolts of black surrounded the boy, and it sizzled like a rebooting battery.

Crude images of reflection showed as the boy's eyes began to glow radiantly red.

And it grew brighter.

Brighter.

And Brighter……

Somewhere in depth of his mind……………something grinned.

"Whatever it takes……right?"

T-T-T-

Albert coughed, then chuckled. "Y-yes…….that is the melody, that is the melody I have yearned to hear for so long, so long…….."

Kahn stood, patted his arm, and turned around.

He began walking, never looking back.

The man treaded the cavern grounds harshly, making echoes that testified to it.

"…….t-tell me … who is the one who s-sings for you……? Just……who are you……? What is your identity?" His legs began dissolving into ashes. Dust to dust.

Kahn stopped and spun around to face the fallen man once more.

His left eye remained impassively black and shrouded, withholding words and truths that strained to be spoken, but remained a mystery.

He 'breathed', then snarled.

"I'm not a charity committee, pops. I have no obligation to answer any of your remaining insipid interests for this world of the living. Be glad that your life ended with the perfect ending: ignorant and blissful."

Albert snickered, and his voice somehow strengthened. "Hehehehe-hehe-ha…………blissful, perhaps. Ignorant……I am not………short is my time with the young lass who embodied herself with the wraith……but I know much more of this world of the crimson ones to simply advert all interests…….even before the very face of death."

"…………………………" Kahn frowned.

"This…….this world circles around fatality of the mortals and emergence of the carved stones of fate, and that is all the more endearing to those who do not appreciate the sentiment. The gravestones above our heads……they are carved with our names, identity and all, nothing amiss. We're all just pawns in a gigantic chess game, manipulated, waiting to be used in a grand scheme, then to be consumed by another piece, before the very end………when the moon burns….I……am not making sense to you…am I?" His legs were almost entirely dissipated.

"………………….."

"When the moon burns, that is when the routine of the living ends. I have unwittingly come to such a knowledge, and it is quite the m-mind bundling paradox."

Kahn twisted his hand, and scratched his scalp through his hazel hair. "Che. Alzheimer's Disease must be abundant around here."

"Ha……I-I am happy t-to be of service."

"Whatever, I have other businesses to attend to, as time's a bitch when it comes to deadlines." Kahn began his departure, again.

A beat.

"………y-you are-are not of this world, either. Do not bother the living for too long…"

Albert paused as the man halted in his steps, who turned around with his left eye brimming crimson red.

"Y-you are a specter……a ghost……a deadly, tormenting specter. I can feel it, bore into my flesh that you have destroyed………you are something long departed of the ones that breathe. Ages of malice and dire intentions……..j-just what is your objective…? Why have you come here………at all? I can feel it…….you are not even concerned about the occurrences around here……"

Slowly, a skin stretching grin formed on Kahn's face. His hazel colored hair fell around his left eye, with the red rays escaping through the gaps.

"Hehehehehe……." His eyes flared. He placed one finger on his forehead. "A specter……eh? HehehahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" His sides convulsed and shook with his insane laughter. Winds of malice blew throughout the cavern.

Gradually, his laughter died out. The dying man gazed at him quizzically.

Kahn huffed a puff of cold vapor, and showed the man his brimming white fangs. "What your perception of a specter, old man, can very well be just another ideology for this shadowy world you cling at this end of your life. It's useless, and very, extremely, annoying. Shadows in the end are only the proof that light exists. Where there are shadows, there must be light. It's an equation, it's a fact, it's a definition."

The Eye pulsed.

"I came here because there are still shadows left to be bore into the light, and there is an extremely large light that needs to be released, whether or not through the tamper of death or life. There's no grim outcome for this, just an end to a means. So don't cling to this world anymore, go see what you left behind, or what you forsaken, if you dare, of course."

Dense silence.

Albert's arms sizzled into ashes.

"……………th-this world is imperfect. That is why it is so beautiful……please, be gentle with the innocent souls that can still live in this faltering world of life and death….."

Kahn's grin widened, if possible. "This world is more than just life and death, but…I always keep my promises."

"……………………"

"Be it through apocalypse or just a scrimmage of dancing elves and stupid umpa lumpas, I'll see that this world gets to see the light dance before its very eyes. Then, I'll get the chance to see true beauty. Hehehehe……"

The torso began its departure.

"……I s-see….."

Kahn turned around. Silence ensued.

The head remained.

Kahn turned back around, and took just one step.

"…………………tell me……will I be able to see her on the other side……?"

"…………………….," He scratched the back of his head, "…………this Terra Firma and the one in the next path are not that cruel. You'll find something to divert your incessant cling."

And he walked, the cave lit by the flare of the Eye.

He paused at the verge of the thickest of darkness.

"…….hmph. Maybe one day, I'll see you for tea and crumpets………"

Somewhere in the heavens, the Crimson Delight smiled.

And he was gone.

Dust gathered and dust flew. The remains of the man paled incredibly, like white stars amongst a field of shadows. But it was a gentle star, because the content smile on the man's face was unmistakable.

The man never breathed. He just smiled.

"………………I've missed you…………Lily…………."

Dust to dust.

T-T-T-

The child began to sway back and forth on the swing, kicking her legs higher and higher into the air, like a lone pendulum, like a grandfather clock.

Her giggles echoed throughout the grasses and tress.

The sunlight was still magenta.

Raven slowly walked over.

She briefly glanced aside, catching the glimpse of a broken toy. A miniature version of a Hawker Hurricane. Its damaged wings laid close, seemingly like a puzzle that could once again be grouped together.

Raven belayed her sight of the broken plaything.

The little girl's giggles echoed in the background, as did Cyborg and Beast Boy's whispers to each other.

She lifted a hand.

She closed her eyes.

A pause.

"………and so she created the first successful cognition of dire suspense in creepy history."

Cyborg poked the changeling on the temple. "BB, something tells me this isn't the place to be unconcerned about the need to be serious."

"Dude, I'm so gonna die while using my funny bones to tickle the world. It's the honor of comedians."

"What? You took a pledge or something, you sissy?"

"……………shhhhh, Raven's about to do something."

Bzzzznnn! The toy glowed the familiar black energy waves, and floated into the air.

The wings reconnected, and Raven brought the object near her face.

The little girl had stopped swinging, and dangled her legs over the edge of the swing. Her curly blonde hair covered most of her face, but a distinct glimmer showed that her blue eyes were watching.

With a twirl of her hand, Raven propelled the toy plane upwards, towards the magenta skylight.

The toy plane glided, though with the aid of the powers of the Azar's pupil.

It soared.

It glided.

But most importantly……

It was in the sky……

I folded the book, and placed it at the corner of the table. "…………that is a lot of things to be cautious of."

"True. There are indeed many things that are predicted in the stars."

"Then…………what do they mean?"

"They mean everything, and possibly anything," She smiled. "And yet………they could also mean nothing at all."

TT

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I glanced at her curiously, waiting, anticipating an answer, as I have always done. And as she always expected of me.

"It means nothing, and yet it means everything at the same time. Just like the Epitaph…………in accordance to such, we are dead, yet our memories live on. No one can dispute or negate such a theory, this state of mind."

"The Epitaph……" I muttered, and with that in mind, I looked out towards the city, where the theme remained consistent and unyielding. The city was, to be best described: Grey.

I looked further, and soon I found myself staring into the stone presence of what was called the Epitaph.

She continued. "We digress and interpret many things, and the messages of the stars are just that: a guesstimate, if you will. They are prophets of the lives of many people, and yet they are also only partial determinations at best. We……decide the rest, through our actions and decisions."

I heard it all, but I made no reply.

I felt the flutter of butterflies against my skin, as I did sometimes. It was……unnatural.

I turned my head toward the outside.

There was some humming, a sermon, perhaps.

"…………there's never any wind around here." I blurted.

She blinked in slight surprise, perchance my musings were beyond any prediction, stars or not. .

"Of course, this is a world sealed from the pungent corruption that those call Terra Firma. The source of their breath cannot be made into the nectar of our life, that is what we avoid."

"Do you hate them?"

"………pardon?"

"I asked: do you hate them? Those outsiders, those corrupted people……d-do you hate them? Should I hate them?"

"………………………"

"W-why do I h-have to leave?"

"…………………"

"……everything I've ever known, is right here, in Azarath. My life……my knowledge……my-my……"

"………………………"

"We-we're here, this city, this community, all the people of Azarath are here because the world beyond is supposedly putrid and unscrupulous. Those are the teachings you taught me, the knowledge you bestowed, passed on to me are just that. Then, why do I have to venture into that outside world? Th-that……earth! That earth, it's bleeding, and there's no bandage, no healing for it."

She had long since my insane ramblings averted her gaze. Toward the Epitaph.

"Those people are making the earth bleed with their squandering of the life given to our reality! They indulge over consumption and then they-they………! Now you want me to enter that world, to find what? A path guided by blinking flares of nuclear remnants that are just lights that traveled to our vision of sight after millenniums it starte-"

A nearby china glowed black before it exploded into pieces of shards and glass. I shivered, catching my breath, and my emotions.

She didn't respond to either my outburst or the explosion of my lack of control. Her eyes were……distant.

I immediately willed myself to calm down. I will not be the end of this city or any other world, however corrupted those may be.

Finally, the familiar glint of warm optics returned, and she addressed me……as the Sacred Daughter.

"Raven…………daughter of Trigon……"

I winced.

"……you must not allow your emotions loose, it will be the end if they are………you must not fear the out world, either. One must not allow hate to surmount oneself, for whatever reason there is. Remember that. Hate is the bane of humanity, and humanity is weak enough as it is, do not allow abstract conditions folly it even more. Especially………when there are righteous people as well as the evils in the outer world."

I took a glance at my right arm.

A beat.

I took a breath, and I shivered.

"……i-if I enter the otter world……I will eventually become an essence of evil as well. I………I don't want that to happen……I don't want my destiny…"

She smiled, just as she always did. "Raven."

I turned my gaze to her eyes, and for a brief moment, I felt a breeze, if I even could relate to what a breeze is.

"Destiny……is a path that can be forced upon an individual………but the method in which that individual walks that path, is entirely a dependent factor."

"……………………"

"One day, you'll see this firsthand, perhaps not in yourself, but in the form of others, and their actions. Destiny is within our grasps, hopefully, you'll hold on to yours with diligence and prowess………one that belongs to the Sacred Daughter. But most of all…………just make sure you're in the sky……ravens don't do well on the ground."

I repeated the last part of the sentence in my head. And verbally as well.

"……in the sky?"

She stood, and gazed at the Epitaph as I did.

The Epitaph………it was always constantly glowing………white…

"Yes, in the sky. Where one day, the sun will freeze and the moon will burn. And you must be the one to recover those on the fringe of death, before they can salvage your soul as well." She smiled again, "You know what they say, you scratch their backs and they will scratch yours, preferably clean nails."

For a moment, I felt the chakra on my forehead glow. I touched it, gently, as if fingering a source of fragile glass.

And the Epitaph shined in the great distance, like a beacon of light……

------------TT

Raven reopened her eyes, violet optics determined.

The wind had somehow stopped, and the smell of blood was no more.

The small child frowned, or pouted, and she began shaking her legs back and forth.

"Hmmmm……now what was the purpose of that?" She pointed to the sky, "having some sentimental value with, well, nothing?"

Raven gave a lopsided lean to the left. "………………………………."

"Ohhh…so you figured it out? Splendid! That is most delightful! Heeheeheehee."

Raven's eyes glowed darkly, and her powers manifested on the verge of her clothes. There was still no wind.

"Yes, this is my childhood home. My memories created this place, in fact, all of the areas of arenas to household and to dungeon corridors are just a manifestation of memories. Hard to believe, but very true, I assure you."

Raven remained silent.

The child drummed her fingers against the chains of the swing. "So it was you who kept disrupting my magicks. Whether it be the swarms, the seals, the labyrinth. All of them, just overly impressive! Where have you learn such knowledge?"

"Return him."

She faltered. "Simon says who?"

"Robin, the Boy Wonder of Gotham. He belongs with us, all of us. Not anywhere here, he belongs in this world of darkness and foulness as much as he belongs in a gay bar."

The child pouted. "I have to disagree. He is very dark, and overly suppressed. His ideals of righteousness and justice are vastly different from the rest of you children. He fights for victory, and a finality, with definite hard core. Only, he never understood that finality of the cycle must be achieved with the ultimate end………death. And now, he has that."

A black flare.

Raven almost snarled.

"I don't care about whether he harbors death or if he's too dark. Robin fought for justice as a crime fighter longer than the rest of us, and he understands the true meaning of vigilante. He is only too determined and disrupted of the recent events. And when he returns to us, the Teen Titans, and the city, he will be able to see the light once more."

"And I have to respectfully disagree. He belongs with us, and my legions of shadows. He and I, all of us, must serve the Wraith. The one and the only, the beginning of the evolution. An ultimate destiny."

"Some people don't like their destinies, and more often than not, destinies are just plain craps."

The little girl's eyes glowed a deep red, like blood.

"Humans are nothing without some form of destiny, and as it is, humans don't have destinies, which is why they need to be involved in others', just like the one I endowed upon Robin. Hehehe…"

Raven fingered her red orb that was the Titan alarm. She took a breath.

"…………………….living in the light is the destiny of everyone…………"

Hel gave a blanched expression. She grinned.

"You may have survived so far, but when the true power of the Wraith is released, you will have no choice but to die. That can even be said to be your destiny."

T-T-T-

Cyborg reacted by arming his cannon. "Yo, BB. I feel the world's most horrific cat fight comin' up."

"M-meow." Beast Boy was shivering.

Crack-ssskl-llleee!

"Ahhh……c'mon, don't fail me now you amazing technology, just hold on a little longer for me……"

"Dude!" The changeling whispered harshly. "you're not gonna last, Cy! We gotta get you-"

A pulse of black.

A pulse of red.

The two boys blinked.

T-T-T-

The blue-haired girl narrowed her eyes. "Destiny can be walked fairly smoothly by a person."

"And yet they usually bleed to death before they reach the end, pity." The child's red eyes began to spread across the entire field. "I hold the power here, you do not understand, young sorceress, that you do not possess extreme powers of a great entity. Further more, you lack the resourcefulness to become a diligent spell caster. Far be it for me to chide you, but at this state of uninformed ignorance, I can only laugh and chuckle. You cannot even begin to fathom the potency of what is at progress here-"

Quakes began.

Hel silenced.

The wind blew again.

Shadows crawled from the corners of the houses and trees, like a morbid plague. As if the light was being absorbed harshly by the shadows, the brightness dimmed.

Raven drew a breath.

Her eyes flared black.

And for one of the rare times, her chakra glowed bright red.

Cleeennnnnn-shhooooo!

The wind blew extremely harsh, causing the blonde child to close her eyes slightly.

The shadows stopped moving, and retreated. Back to somewhere where the light wasn't as strong.

Raven was floating slightly.

A red flare.

Dark eyes.

The wind stopped.

Behind Raven, the dimension began to shift. The colors and landscape began to mend into a pile of swirls, like a tidal pool in the crafts of the under-seers beneath an ocean, and those same under-seers were horribly amused. Horribly. But still amused.

The landscape caved in, literally, boring in virtually streams of light that ascended from the middle of the sky. The stones, trees, grass, and all other forms of nature were in a motion of collapse toward the center of the grounds, as if reality itself was being consumed by a huge quicksand. But that quicksand was also reverting processes, regurgitating another reality in reciprocation. A reality that stained with the nostalgic memories of a child born with a destiny that was cruel and diminutive. A virtual ground state came about, and it was grey, and it was noir. But most of all, it was quiet, a silence that bred along with a breeze that never existed, until today. And in the back of the girl with violet eyes, and behind the entire landscape itself, was a gigantic stone emblem, with a moon sigil on its left, and a sun sigil on its right.

A breeze blew by.

Raven stared straight, with the sight of the Epitaph behind her back, at the befuddled child of blonde.

"Hilarious, isn't it?"

T-T-T-

Two more small fiends dispersed into nothingness.

From where he stood, Gilmour grinned. "And he earns fifty points! The patrons in hell all clap their hands with mirth in their cremated cheeks and throw their hands in the air!" He punched out the clip in the .45 and reloaded it with casualness.

He walked over to where the fiends were, and crouched around the corner.

Nothing but a path of broken pushing carts.

"What a mess…….and where the heck am I supposed to shop for groceries now?"

He raised his right hand slightly above his shoulder, and motioned with his index finger.

Lester rounded the corner of the building, his shotgun held by one hand and aimed downwards.

Sticking his back close to the wall, he scanned the area in another swift glance. He turned his head back, and called: "Clear. How bout' you boys and girl back there? Any internal bleeding that needs to be patched up?"

"On the reclusive accountability sir, we're just darn tootin'." He gestured backwards. "And the two newly weds are bickering like……um…newly weds."

"You're quite the linguistic, officer Havok."

"With all due respect, sir, you can suck my balls."

"Quaint, really quaint."

"Ow! C'mon, Sally! Can't you be a little more tender and caring? You're supporting a dying man, not a sack of dried potatoes!"

"On the account on how much television you watch, the similarity is on a rather thin variance!"

"Heh, say what you want, but I have my arms around you-oof!"

"Was it two cracked ribs? Oh no! Now it's three! What a shame!"

"Ah, that hurt, Sally! Do you want to kill me? If so, then next time when a giant monster with a gigantic stinger is about to make a puncture wound out of me, get out of the friggin' way!"

"That was different! I-I can't, I mean, I can't allow one of my teammates just die in plain view! It's against our code of conduct!"

"Pffft! Our code of conduct is to 'uphold the law and all that is righteous'! Not to strive for making a double homicide when it can just only be a single dead, gorgeous man!"

"Ha! Gorgeous? You look like a cheap rendition of-"

"Don't say it! Whatever you do, do not say what you're about to say!"

"-Elisa Lockhart!"

"Dammit! One time, just that one time, and people stalk you with it for the rest of your life!"

John swiveled his head back to the lieutenant. "They're gonna be just fine. Hell, I think this whole experience just sped things up, or something."

"……………………"

"………sir?"

Lester blinked. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I have ammunition. Don't worry."

"………of course, I'll just…….check with the kids."

The man turned around and walked toward the arguing duo, who though were arguing in a heap of hotheadedness, both were clinging to each other with their grasps.

As soon as John left the immediate area, Gilmour spoke: "This isn't going to be one of those interventions where you're going to demand a revelation that I will not deliver but secretly I hold all of the information in the world but a dark and horrible past trauma keeps me from divulging toward your good intentions completely?"

"Um……not really."

The man smirked, his lips curved in just a right amount of mirth. "Well, darn tootin', then. Cuz there's nothin' more annoying than backseat bitchers. Well, maybe Paulie Shore and politics. Worst combination, ever! Eh….then again, separately, they still make me cringe."

Lester rolled his eyes, just slightly. "Do you ever slow down? This is a conversation, not a tongue twister race."

"Please, you expect me to be a calm speaker, at this moment? I've got more adrenaline pumped in my veins than Arnold has steroids in his circulatory system, oopps, did I say that out loud? Hehehehe."

Lester shook his head. "All right, stop stalling. What in the name of Georgia is going on?"

Gilmour gave a sour look. "Huh. What makes you think Georgia knows anything? And stop using other people's name in vain, didn't you go to a Catholic school?"

The lieutenant gave a vexed and slightly angered glare.

"Oh, yeah. Shot fire with my arm. Dammit! I should have just let those two Ebony and Ivory die!" Gilmour cried with a smirk.

"All right, I get the picture: you saved my subordinates, and so all of us owe you-reluctantly-and a debt is a debt. But I can't just voluntarily ignore that there seems to be a chance that you're withholding information."

"You know who you look like? Colombo. Yeah, with a glass eye and a hobo look, you could-"

"Inspector, I am deeply tempted to fire three magnum shots straight into your ulcer, at this very instant."

"Speaking of ulcers, did you know that the chief has had a kidney stone incident three months ago? Guess who had to accompany him to the hospital. Moi, that's who, moi. That was definitely a gruesome weekend."

"Inspector, do not tempt me."

"Speaking oh which, have you ever watched that show: Temptation Island? God, the chicks are hot on that show-don't tell my wife-but what's up with the obvious distinction in the couplings? They're not making much sense-"

Lester restricted his hand from reaching his waist. His neck twitched slightly.

"Fine, fine. Inspector Gilmour, if you will not answer the question, then I'll just beat it out of you at a later time."

"It's a date then. But don't expect anything freaky, I don't put out until the third date."

The man chuckled as the lieutenant spun around while rubbing his temple.

"Hehehehehe. You gotta calm down. Laughter is the best medicine in this world, and it sure can use a big dosage of it at this moment."

"Go to hell."

Gilmour shrugged. "Sheesh. Give a man advice and he blows it out of his nostrils in flaming dispute. I recommend taffy."

T-T-T-

Lester made a small distance to the other three. "Hey! We've gotta keep moving, people! Is Basque bandaged yet!"

"At a bare minimum, sir." John answered from a crouching position. "He's got at least a fractured rib, and his collar bone is showing signs of damage. And on top of that…" He gave a glance.

"Ow! Be a little more careful, Sally. Remember, this is keeping me alive, not a strangulation contest!"

"If it comes to that, I'd be doing this world a favor!"

"……I'd suggest marriage counseling."

The lieutenant shook his head. "Well, let's just get them-"

A distinct rumble in the grounds.

Basque watched the ground as small pieces of concrete shook with turbulence.

Gilmour walked back to the four, all signs of mischievousness gone. "Hmmm………I'd say we're in a world of shit, right now."

Lester lifted his head.

Red eyes.

Swarms of shadows.

Scattered shrieks.

A hoard of deaths.

Perched on multiple sides of the buildings, were various forms of the shadow creatures. And between the alleyways, humans with the same red eyes, snarling and dripping with saliva.

The four officers both slowly withdrew their weaponry. Slow breaths, taken carefully and cautiously.

Gilmour stared at the sky.

Magenta.

He spat a sigh.

His arm began to glow red.

"Pooey. I guess I gotta use this again." He moved slightly in front of the group. "Man, maybe I should transfer to Metropolis."

Shrieks ran throughout the empty streets.

The creatures leapt from their positions.

T-T-T-

Hel stared in disbelief, her blue eyes shaken. "Wha……….impossible! How-how have you managed………? This is……heresy! This is my d-domain! H-how c-could you have……?"

She caught the sight of the Epitaph.

White.

"That is……….!"

Foon-foon-foon-foon!

She reverted her gaze back towards the front.

Raven gaze a menacing glare. "Feeling inadequate?"

Hel glanced downwards. There was an obvious line of division. Grass and stones of green on her half. Stones and pillars of grey on the other. The Epitaph.

White.

A wind blew by.

It was a breeze.

T-T-T-

The creatures closed the distance, rapidly.

Sally had her arm around Basque's back, and held a pistol in the front.

Basque had two grenades fingered in his right hand.

John and Lester both sported duo MK14's, locked and loaded.

Gilmour narrowed his eyes. He twirled his gun once.

"Get ready, boys and girls. This is gonna be one hellauva fun ride."

Just when the fiends were close enough in range, he pulled his hand-

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!

"?"

A typoon of black tendrils extended from across the horizon. Lights. White lights.

All the monsters halted in midair and mid-path. They gazed toward the sky in confusion. They shivered in a rapid agitation that could not be perceived.

They threw their red eyed visions at all directions, shrieking and bawling.

Gilmour relaxed his hand, though just slightly, and threw Lester a glance.

The lieutenant made quick eye contact, but never lowered his weapon.

FLASH!

A beacon of black vortex pillared toward the magenta sky, raining down meteors of black bolts. A horrendous sizzling sound echoed throughout the city. Booming vibrations of thunder raced through the grounds, and the inspector finally saw the source.

The black domes.

They were becoming brighter, and rapidly smaller.

Scattered shrieks.

Numerous red eyes, but the numbers decreased, and at a fast rate, until the hoard before the four officers and the inspector dissipated.

"………………………………" Lester lowered his machine gun.

Basque and Sally both relaxed a grip they didn't know they formed.

John touched his eyebrow, furrowing his forehead.

Gilmour smirked. "It's official! There is at least one deity out there that friggin' loves me!"

T-T-T-

The child's eyes thinned, and her mouth formed a pure look of loathing.

A breeze was there.

"You…………..! Despicable, little, wench……!"

Raven took a step forward. "You said that this world can be swayed by your memories, your intent. Then, it will only require a mental prowess to manipulate the terrain of this dimension. I assume I just found the key."

Her hair glided with the breeze, and she gave a small, nostalgic expression to the side.

"And so…………….I created this with my memories……………long but not forgotten ones."

The Epitaph glowed.

Cyborg walked next to the girl, followed by Beast Boy.

"Yo, meet the Titans' queen. Ain't she the coolest?" He gave a confident grin. "Now, just surrender, or we'll be forced to send your creepy little butt all the way to purgatory."

He jerked slightly from a static bolt in his shoulder.

Hel shook her head, twice. "No………! I cannot allow this! How did this turn to be? How can you possibly tap into the powers of this contraption? This is my daddy's work! My daddy's! Do you understand what I'm saying? You're not worthy! You're just a group of imbeciles that know nothing but a humanity based on corruption and a world assumed on the basis of the morality of fouled ones! The aim of humanity that will ultimately drag society and the corpses of men into the grounds of oblivion!"

Beast Boy twisted his lip in an expression of awkward confusion. "Uh………kids these days. Can't understand a word they say."

"I won't allow you to sully daddy's work with your over arrogant dose of disrespect and ineptitude!

A flicker of black.

And a pulse of red.

Raven's violet eyes narrowed.

"Foul humans! Despicable teens, Titans!" She bit her lip and gazed toward the sky. "Albert! Come here this instant and kill these heretic brats! Albert? Answer me!" She whirled around, as if searching for something.

"Albert! I can't hear him, his mind is not-" her face contorted into a vision of insane anger. "Whhheeeeeerrreee iiiiisssss Allllllbeeeerrrttttt?"

"Holy temper! That chick's got some serious facial issues! Face scrubs, someone toss her some face scrubs!" The changeling commented, while moving slightly backwards.

"What a pain, something goes unexpected in her plans and she goes bonkers. Geez, not even Robin gets so pissed when we tamper with his utility belt."

FLASH! FLASH!

Hel whipped her head around, then to the sky.

It was blue and black.

"No. NOOOOOOOOOO! Those lights! The soul spheres! You disrupted the process! They were nearly complete, and you disrupted their progress! They were almost ready-almost ready-I was about to-"

She gripped her hair, shuddering.

"Hooooooowwwww daaaaaarrreeeee youuuuuuuuu! Yoooouuuuu disssssrrrruuuppppttt my plaaaaanssss and deeeeelaaaayyyeed daadddddy's reeeeeeeeemmmmeeerrrrgeeeeennnce……"

Cyborg and Raven gasped and Beast Boy yelped.

The child's appearance changed just as gradually as her voice did. Her entire complexion darkened, as did her clothes and hair. It became apparent that all her colors were slowly etching toward a darker hue, and a shade that was to become ultimately black.

Except her eyes.

They were blood red.

Raven tilted her head back. "Those eyes………they're so……"

The breeze changed as well. It regained the luster of blood and bile.

"Preeeepaaaarreeee toooooo beeeee connnnsuuuummmeeeed!"

T-T-T-T-T-

Starfire stirred.

She coughed, and her breath coursed fluently.

She opened her green eyes.

A few seconds passed as she just watched the grounds for patterns, while her mind collected consciousness and activity.

Her eyes widened and she bolted straight up. "Robin!"

The Tamaranian arched to the side, and winced. She felt her stomach, and found no traces of wounds or blood. But there was some pain, meaning there was once a wound.

She glanced around.

Silence.

She touched her arm.

She closed her eyes, and bit her lip.

She hugged herself, visibly shaken.

A few moments passed.

Green eyes reopened with determination.

She floated.

The girl stretched slightly, jolting muscles and joints.

She clenched her fists.

Breathed.

Stiffened her jaw, and flew at incredible speed towards a path.

One that was laced with the remains of black bolts.

T-T-T-

Steps echoed through the cavern.

Darkness was the only thing there, though it was still accompanied by a dim red glow.

A dripping sound.

Small shades of blue.

An unmistakable sound of grating, like a haunting musical played by the ghosts of an ancient citadel.

Steps echoed through the cavern.

A quake. A turbulence.

The cavern silenced. Kahn grinned in the dark, white fangs bearing almost visibly amongst the darkness.

"So it begins………….hehehehehehe……"

He rubbed his neck. "I suppose I'll need to hurry before things get too complicated to resolve." He began walking again.

The Eye pulsed crimson, intensely.

"?" He paused again.

The relic blinked in red. Flashing periodically in rapidness.

It was resonating.

"Hrmmmm…….this is…………." A beat, "………hehehehahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! How unexpected, but absolutely brilliant! Something like this actually happened! I can't believe it! This is just too good, both amusing and progressive!"

He clenched his fists.

White fangs in the dark. Very visible.

His left eye flared.

"The jolly good times are just so friggin' unending! Something up there must be laughing its ass off!"

Harsh steps echoed throughout the cavern.

A red dot blurred through at great speed.

It continued to resonate.

"London Bridge is falling down, falling down……waahahahahahahaha!"

T-T-T-

FrrrriiiiiiAAAAAAANNNNN!

Blackness danced all around. The three Titans watched in fascination and horror as the images and backgrounds shifted toward a mixture of all sorts of brief flashes of light and pictures of the mind.

Temples.

Lights, and shadows.

Stones, and flesh.

Blood and bile.

Texts and flames.

Smoke and mirrors.

Water and rain.

The three Titans glanced frantically around, slightly stupefied by the phenomenon.

Cyborg's mechanical optic beeped.

He raised his head.

"?"

Wormholes of blackness inhabited the sky, plaguing and consuming parts of the blue sky.

"No way…………!"

"No way what?" Beast Boy cried, "That we're all gonna die?"

The android shook his head. "Don't you see those holes? They're energy vortexes diamagnetically charged into pulses of quantum singularities!"

"Dude! You've had months to learn already! Use laymen terms!"

Raven stared at the sight. "They're blackholes……"

"What? Then shouldn't everything be sucked into something fierce? Not even light is supposed to escape those things!"

"Cooooorrreeecccttttt! Liiiiigghtttsssss arrreeee nooooot toooo eeeeeescaaaaaaape!

The changeling spun around, and his green pupils shrunk. "Mommy………"

A horrid shriek. Daggers of flames and tendrils of black.

Replacing what was previously a child version of Hel, now stood a gigantic being of darkness. Its red eyes spilled across the domain, lingering as if the red glow left traces of its diabolical essence.

"Beeeehooold! Theeeee fooorm of theeeeee Wrrrrraaaaaith!"

Sizzles of shadows consumed the area, and the veritable dimension pulsed and twirled like a million pieces of broken glass.

Raven's eyes were on the same expression as Beast Boy. She gasped. "……th-those eyes……!"

Poon!

She as suddenly tackled to the side by Cyborg, and a split second later, a huge hand struck nothing but dirt.

"Raven, pay attention to living-" WHAM!

Cyborg was cut short as he was pummeled away from the girl.

"Cyborg!" Raven shouted.

A huge pressure from above.

She gasped slightly and immediately formed herself into her powers in the form of a bird, and teleported away from the grasp of the behemoth demon.

Hel growled in her new form, and began moving, slowly, after the sorceress.

THWACK!

She jerked forward.

"?"

She looked downwards, and saw a green T-rex squeezing into her back.

The giant reptile roared and head butted the creature, combining with some tail whippings.

Beast Boy's eyes widened and swiftly transformed into a hawk and flew over the top to avoid an aerial sweep from a humongous arm.

He squawked in the air, and flapped his wings intentionally hard.

The monster growled and moved to chase the changeling, leaving behind all conscious remembrance of the girl in a fit of rage.

T-T-

Cyborg moaned as he flipped over to deal with the pain.

"Oooohhh…this feels worse than combat practice on Wednesdays!"

"Cyborg!"

He turned to the direction of the voice and gave a tired grin, his human eye displaying it blatantly. He coughed slightly.

Raven floated down, released from her energy form. She quickly crouched to his front, and touched his shoulder.

"Cyborg, how bad is the damage?" She shook her head, "Stupid question. You're the single most damaged person I've ever met."

The android gave a sarcastic grin. "Heh….h-hehe, yeah."

He looked to the far side, where a green bird was seen tangling with a gigantic black monster, barely.

"R-raven. Just what the hell is going on here? Wh-what is all this? Why the hell did miss creepy two thousand and four become a Godzilla reject?"

The girl bit her lip. "I-I don't know."

The android groaned slightly. "B-but you somehow managed to manipulate the dimension, just before. I th-thought you had this all figured out."

Raven furrowed her eyebrows. She closed her eyes. When she reopened them in a couple of seconds, she answered: "I………I honestly don't know entirely myself. All these things……they came naturally to me, like a predestined code."

"Well, does this predestined code have a cheat code where we win automatically?"

She shook her head. "I don't know enough, just that we need to help Beast Boy defeat her, before something else goes amiss."

The android gave a quick frown. "Tangling with supernatural beasts from ancient times…………this so just does not compute."

He began running forward when he was held back by a black wall.

"Huh? What gives? Rae! You mind letting me open my can of whoop ass?"

Raven frowned. "Do a viral scan or something, you dimwit. I can't allow you to risk your life further. Your arm is almost ripped entirely from your shoulder. Just……try to fight from a distance, please."

"Arrrghhhh! Fine! Only because I know time's a factor right now! But we're so gonna argue about heroic 'cans' and 'cannots' when we get back to the tower!"

She nodded.

The two reentered the field of battle.

T-T-

Beast Boy swiftly dodged another swipe and transformed into a cheetah to run a distance.

The wraith form of Hel shrieked as she gave pursuit, but it was apparent that her mobility was low.

An elfin Beast Boy laughed and blew a raspberry.

"Nyah! Nyah! You're never gonna get me lucky charms……damn, now even I'm making fun of my short status. Eeep!"

He rolled to side, avoiding an ultra-size black spear. WHAM! The black weaponry retracted, and returned to the monster's arm from many yards away.

"Fooooollll! Yoooouuuuu thiiiinnnnnk yoooouuu caaaan escaaaaapeeee?"

Beast Boy growled as he got up. "Weeeeell, aaaa duuuuuude's gooooooottttaaaa trrrrryyyy…!"

He squealed again, changed into a leopard, and leapt away from another extended arm.

The monster roared again. She pulled her other arm back, and struck forward with vicious momentum and power.

Using his animalistic agility, Beast Boy continued to avoid blow after blow of strong impacts from the spears of darkness. Finally, he reached the base portion of the Wraith, and he changed into an elephant.

He released a fierce sound produced by the largest land mammal on earth and rammed into the beast's side, trying to force the creature's large frame to tilt.

The impact was strong enough to lift the creature's form slightly into the air.

A flash of blue.

ZOOOON!

A wave of sonic waves aimed straight into the opening. An explosion.

Hel's wraith form tilted and fell to the ground. WHOMP!

The monstrosity screamed. She caught the sight of a floating figure above her.

Raven raised a hand. Her powers formed. Blades of black flew down in a fury.

Unable to avoid the attacks, Hel's wraith form severed on many locations of its dark form.

The energy blades cut through the shadowy entity, but the parts remained attached, like doses of black flames, lingering and undispersing.

Raven narrowed her eyes and-

Swooosh!

She barely moved to the side, avoiding a piercing dark edge, which left a thin red line on her pale face.

The monster reared its other limp backwards, and-

ZOOOON!

"Yo! Godzilla reject! Get your grisly red dotted face over here!" The android's shoulder sparkled with electricity.

The wraith roared and reared its vision toward the Titan in a furious aggression.

"Cyborg! What are you doing?" Raven screamed.

Cyborg wagged his fingers slightly, with the hand that is pressed against the top of his cannon. "That's it, ugly, aim your ugly face at the pretty light……"

The monster opened its mouth, wide. It stretched to a gap of at least ten feet and counting.

It bulked its shoulders.

Cyborg's cannon sparkled.

A flash of red.

The creature's upper body shot forward in a slingshot effect. Its mouth was aimed straight for the titanium teen.

Cyborg took a sharp breath. He aimed……

SLAM!

A sudden force struck from above and clamped the monster's stretch mouth shut into a thin line of black. The force was great enough to cause a moment of immobility.

A giant whale miraculously transformed into a green hawk, took flight into the air, and landed as an elfin Beast Boy next to the android.

"Hoya! Two hundred tons of Antarctic bone-crushing ocean fury! Aqualad would so love to see this!" He blinked once. He held his stomach slightly and groaned. "Oooooo…… belly flop on shadow monster, owwww…"

Cyborg panted slightly. "Oh, man, that was scary." He slouched slightly. His cannon formed back.

In the air, Raven also breathed a sigh of relief.

She then turned her gaze on the semi-flattened behemoth.

No movement.

Beast Boy, one eye still wincing from the slight pain, spoke: "So………did we KO it?"

Cyborg opened his mouth-

FLASH!

A red and black blur.

PAM!

Raven and Beast Boy gasped.

"Whoa! Arrghhh!" The android bellowed as he was enveloped in a whirl of darkness and lifted into the air. Moments later, a crushing grip ensued, and he screamed as sparks flew not just form his shoulder, but his entire frame.

"Cy! Let him go you big tree!" The changeling yelled as he morphed into a rhinoceros and charged-

FLASH!

A foam of murky darkness also enveloped the green animal, but instead of a grip, it became a ring of pyreflies and flames.

Beast Boy morphed back into human form and panicked within the ring of flames.

He changed into a sparrow and took flight-

The fire ring rose to great height that matched the changeling's altitude.

He morphed into a T-Rex and took a gigantic step. The flames torched his reptilian skin.

"Aaahh! Boy on fire, boy on fire!" He had returned to humanoid form and rolled on the ground, holding his arm that showed black burn wounds.

"Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!"

Some scattered stones and pillars floated in black energy forms, and rocketed toward the dark entity.

Pooosh! Pooosh! Pooooosh!

They all just passed through.

"Iiiiiiiittttt iiiisss uuuuuusseeleeesssss!" The monstrosity seemingly smirked, and held the pained Cyborg in front of its demonic red eyes.

"Heeeee shaaaallll suffffeeeerrr, aaaanndddd yoooouuu shaaaallll waaaattttchhhh……" The grip tightened.

"Aaaaaagghhhh!" Sparks flew. A twisting sound of metal.

The girl gritted her teeth. "Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!"

Cyborg's body was encased in a protective barrier, pushing against the gigantic pressured grip.

The wraith grunted loudly in annoyance at the sudden defiance, and tightened its black hand.

Within the grasp and in the interior of the shield, Cyborg had his eyes shut and was wincing in pain all over.

Raven had both her hands extended, and her breath ragged hard. "Nnnnngggg!"

The shield contorted inward and outward.

The wraith's red eyes brightened.

Cyborg's breaths were ragged.

His eyes widened. "Rrrrrrghhhhaaahhhhhh!"

Scarping sounds of bending metal and pounding flesh.

Raven continued to stress her powers to the max.

The hand tightened some more.

Eyes full of desperation and fury. "Nnnnnnn! L-let him go! Release him!"

Red eyes.

The screams of a Titan.

Below Beast Boy whimpered, holding his sides. "J-jeez! Get up, Beast Boy! Y-you can't fail again, not Cy! You can't fail Cy!" He pushed against the ground, willing himself to rise, but he faltered and slammed upon the ground. "G-gotta get up! Ugh….ugh!"

Fervor pulses of magick. Desperate eyes.

She watched as the crushing grip closed some more distance.

Skkk-tt-skkktt!

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!"

The arm had severed.

Two red eyes.

What seemed to be a grin.

She gritted her teeth, trembling as she resumed her upmost struggle to save the male Titans.

The most important thing………is the feeling of flight.

"……I said……let h-him go……!"

Eyes of grey and white pearls.

Shooooosssppp!

Slowly, made into eyes of red.

Four red eyes.

"……rrrr……I said…LET HIM GO!"

Shiiiiiitooooooonnn!

The black dome encasing Cyborg expanded, stretching beyond the limitations set by the grip. It demolished the wraith's hand, and dispersed its shoulder.

The monster immediately backed away, and its red eyes yielded a gleam of fear.

Raven's cloak and hood flapped and tossed over, revealing the girl's features that now possessed an appearance that was……predestined.

Four red eyes.

Cyborg floated within the sphere, his left arm dangling with some half-severed think wires.

The teen was grey where it was once blue.

Raven lowered her left hand, directly influencing the sphere containing the fallen android to lower to the ground.

She shot her right hand forward. "Azarath! Metrion! ZINTHOS!"

Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiioooooo!

At the same time, the wraith widened its mouth, and shot forward in a bull charge.

"Shrrrriiiiii!"

Two red eyes. Four red eyes.

A clash of black and grey.

T-T-T-T-

"Run all you want, you're just delaying things. Delaying everything that'll eventually just become sustenance for us, in the fervor of our glory. It's just like a play………and the ending is extra sweet for us…"

Panting…

"For every action, there is always a counteraction……a harmony of ethics……and in the end, the rebound is always the more feverish one. It will eventually devour you……"

Black bolts, shadows, and the light…

"………prepare yourself……ultimately, you will succumb…hehehehehehe……run little Scotsman, run! Well then, exit, stage right."

A ripple of darkness.

A breath.

"Let's begin act one…"

T-T-T-T-

Flashes of an amalgamation of colors and dust.

Through the distortion of rays of black and grey, a body of green emerged.

Beast Boy rubbed his head painfully, his hair messed with crumbs of pebbles and debris.

"Nnngghhhh! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." His eyes widened. "Aw jeez! R-raven! Cy! Where are you people? C'mon out! Por favor? Anyone? I'll even take a bad guy! But don't let that discourage you if you're a Titan!" He whipped around to see the fallen form of Cyborg, energy depleted and lifeless.

He hopped awkwardly to the fallen android, almost tripping and rested on his knees. "Hey! Cyborg! Y-you okay, dude? Aw, jeez, aw jeez. R-raven! Where are you! I think I need serious guidance here! Th-this is the perfect time for your backseat drabbles!"

Silence.

The surrounding area had become grey, replacing the previous colorful frameworks and vivid sceneries.

But there was no sign of either living thing, Cyborg included.

Beast Boy's eyebrows furrowed and he bit his lip in panicking debonair.

He returned his attention to Cyborg, with his hands gripping his head in a worried frenzy.

"This is just great……man, man, Cy, I hope you kept a spare battery in your a-"

FLASH!

A portal appeared in the middle of the entire area, flexing unknown pulses of energy.

Small bolts reacted with the electrons on the ground, creating small versions of static lightning.

Slowly, the form of two humans remained after the portal diminished.

"R-raven! Praise Christ, Buddha, or Tony Hancock! You're al-" His words caught in his throat as he saw the sight of the blonde conspirator, wriggling against an unseen force.

Hood cindered and hair fizzled, Raven closed her eyes in slight pain, with her hands holding herself up by pressing against the ground.

Her leotard had small scratches at certain areas, showing her pale skin.

And what looked like tattoos.

Glowing, and red.

She bit her lip, and breathed harshly. She shuddered from something, and she choked to the breeze in the whirl pool of visions: "…………I d-don't want any destiny……"

"….my, my, my! So this is your secret!" Hel's now more developed voice echoed. "Th-this is the reason you could perform so dauntingly well! Your powers, your sources, your defiance! And yet, despite all those arbitrary elements and factors……you're just like me! So very peculiarly so!"

The child form of a being stared at the female Titan in a look of revelation. "An ultimate destiny……hindered only by the wheels of time and the manipulation of ages. I saw flames…….I saw darkness…….I saw the stones of flesh…….! You, you're absolutely in congruence with what I am!" Her eyes glowed a blue. "Then why………why defy everything that you were born to become? Why-why? I saw it! The dark entity! The demon! The evolution of this world! Why are you delaying such a magnificent event?"

Raven covered her ears and released another harsh breath. And two more. And three more, until……

"Because……………………I don't do horror movies." She steadied herself, and wobbly stood.

She touched her forehead; her chakra.

"Don't judge………with that twisted perception of yours……it's really, unreliable. There's no glory to any of this…….just a massive pile of a waste of time. And it accomplishes nothing."

Hel sneered, and opened her mouth to speak-

"…you claim your goal…….is to evolve man through the path of shadows……but……all you really wanted……was to see your father."

Hel paused.

"I-I saw it………through your eyes………those moments……those red, red, red, moments. I…….." she shuddered again, "…………perhaps it's nothing I can understand……but, this is not anything that works with your father's intentions…"

The blonde frowned in anger. "Wh-what would you know? True, you've seen some images of my mind as well, but y-you, you do not know anything! You can't possibly…….the relief the Wraith gives! What it can do for all humanity……!" She hugged herself, shakily. "This world lacks it! I've seen the evils that dwell in the lands beyond. Even n-now, they gather in their dens of conspiracy, and plot, plot, plot, plot. Plotting nothing but the more gathering of blood and the loss of everything sacred! The only way to stop them, is to evolve, destroy, whatever it takes!"

With quivering pale, small hands, she pushed against her golden eyebrows. "This is only the rights of those who can salvage this world. S-such things need to b-be done! My daddy would want that, he would, he would………"

And the child hugged her knees to herself, repeating the last phrase like a chant.

Raven closed her eyes. "Yeah………." A beat, "……and I get manicures……"

In her dizzy status, Raven finally lost her balance and leaned to the side a little too much.

"!" Beast Boy leapt, and at the same time, transformed into a Saint Bernard, cushioning the girl's fall. He whimpered slightly, nudging against the girl's face, who laid on his back.

He turned back to the sight of the child hugging her knees.

In a green blur, he returned to human form, with a toothy frown plastered on his face.

He watched the small girl with that frown on his face, and a pair of angry green eyes. It appeared as if he wanted to say something, but as he watched the small girl quiver in fear and confusion, his expression softened.

Slowly, his brows furrowed, in a look of pained pity. With a burned arm, he lifted Raven's form more comfortable to his side. He took a sharp intake of a breath.

"Y-you're being pathetic."

His words seemed to have caught the girl's attention, because she stopped her chanting, and lifted her head. Her eyes were quivering with the same uncertainty that existed.

"I……I don't understand what's going on, I never do." He kept his eyes on the ground. "I'm not in tune with the world like Robin, or connected to the spiritual jimjam like Raven……but whatever is happening, I now know it's absolutely pointless on many levels. I…………I'm guessing you're doing a lot of these things for your father or somethin', but it's all in the wrong direction. You can't possibly get anything worth kudos from trying to-utterly-destroy a civilization itself. It's just……not how it works, it never does……"

"Wh………..what could you impudent children possibly understand? If you knew what the true nature of this world looks like, you would be joining my ranks-"

"I don't care!"

She stopped.

"I don't see where this is going toward and I sure as jimmy crack whore and I don't care! You don't want to rescue or salvage anything! Evolution my hairy green butt! You-you just wanted to do somethin' you've been hammering yourself for the longest time! I know that feeling! The feeling of utter regret………" He took a sharp breath. He shuddered, and he bit his lips. "I-I……I-I don't wanna feel that regret anymore……" He opened his green eyes, slight determination glowing. "I won't allow you to harm any of my friends, or this city, because it was saved by a much prettier blonde than you."

Just for a moment, Hel studied the green boy who did not so much looked threatening than he was comical. Ragged and burned as he was, the changeling held no stature.

A pause.

She giggled. Her hair covered her face. And then she laughed.

Though bitterly.

And Beast Boy watched, with confused but alert eyes.

Hel continued to giggle, speaking as she managed to stifle some of the merriness in her voice. "Hee-h-hee hehehehehe! Gosh, golly, y-you children are so-so magnificently foolish! It's so utterly discerning and concerning at the same time! Heheheheehhehe!"

She continued to giggle a little longer, before she sighed exasperatedly, and placed her hands on her knees. For a moment, she looked like the little girl her shape took in.

"Regret…………………just what part of that particular emotion do you understand, Mr. Beast Boy? A failed test? A chance at a flashy transportation? The glory of being a hero? The chance to lose your virginity? You cannot possibly truly understand the daunting, scaling feeling that is regret. The days I've spent……..contending and calculating…………and remembering. That is what regret is. And do not let it be me who judges what you believe you've experienced, but this dastardly simplistic reality you live in does not even come close to what I've seen, what I've heard. A mere child you are…………ignorant and yet nothing to be of bliss, knowing absolutely nothing."

A pause.

"M-maybe so. But I've felt regret, and I still feel it now, which is exactly the reason why I won't let it fester even more." He clenched his fist, green and all. "And if you really understand as you claim, then you'd do the same. I'm not going to fail again, and if you still want to continue your Emily Dickinson styled rampage, then I'll fight you tooth and nail, literally."

"…………………………"

She gazed into the green orbs of Beast Boy's eyes. The changeling stared back defiantly, giving off an aura of a human and the scent of a ……….beast.

A pause.

"………………………………….perhaps I was wrong. This city……it might still have some of its hope left from that Pandora's Box." She mumbled, away from the hearing distance of the changeling.

"?"

"Heh……my powers are depleted, emptier than the municipal chapel. I have no chance for victory, now, so I have no will to fight on with you. You may relax."

The green Titan eyed the once-enemy critically, expression confused and cautious.

Beast Boy was concentrating on the girl's movements, when he felt Raven shifting on his back. His attention immediately snapped to attention.

Hel also watched the pale girl groan slightly in her unconscious state.

A pause.

"That young woman……………do you know of her destiny?"

"………………? Uh……as much as I know what her bra size is, and that begs to a weird story. Hehe-uh, yeah……"

"Heh hehehehehe. There's a hidden prowess within her, something so devious and alluring. I have just seen it, through her eyes, what the future of this world holds. The sight of a sorceress doomed by the Axes. I've seen it all. By time's rendition, you'll all see it. The bloody red moment of truth, and regret, and then……many marbles that were made from flesh."

"………………….?"

"You too, have a beast. Mr. Beast Boy, a deadly, destined fate. My, how ironic that the Teen Titans have so much darkness in them than anyone has realized! I see it now! The shadows! The light! This-this is what was meant by the shadows! It's been so obvious……!"

"W-whoa, lady, what-what are you talking about?"

Hel chuckled, her fingers trailing across her eyelids, as if sensually feeling her own flesh. "Oooohhh, you'll seeee……you'll see it alright. When the hands of the clock strikes midnight, you'll witness it for your absolute pleasure……"

The young Titan could only gasp as he watched a rip of the woman's shoulder, with her own sharp nails.

"Wait! What are you…"

"Hehehehe," she giggled, as she felt the crimson form of life flow through the spaces between her fingers, "remember this, Mr. Titan, remember these names well, engrave them in your hands if you do not trust your head….the Axes, the Epitaph, Seraph's Clock, and……Mercury Gaia…"

Beast Boy shuddered as he heard those words register within his pointy ears, but he could still only gasp, as now the woman before him slowly showed more shadows, like laces of fairy dust.

"I must apologize for what needs to take place: a fiery death for a woman who could not entrap her own vocal capabilities, and your bearing witness to such an event."

With a wicked smile, the woman held her hands for the green changeling to see, as flesh slowly converted into black dust, and a once diminished red glow from the eyes returned, with a renewed vigor.

"Heeheehee, as they say: once you go black, you never come back."

"Wait! What's going on? What's happening to you?"

"This, is just the perfect ending for someone who failed the trials of achieving victory. I now know why those low lives allowed me to entreat them to the heart of their machinations, it is so they can eradicate me with a pump of blood." She smiled crookedly. "Or perhaps……they wanted me to see the grand fiasco through the red eyes of an unworldly demon? Either way, daddy and I……we were both deceived…"

The red taint began to spread, like a wildfire, which is because the flames alit and a cycle of consummation took place.

Sssskkk-tt-shhhh!

"……uh……ugh……?"

In an instant flash, Hel's body was entrapped by spikes of inferno, cracking and croaking as flesh normally does under extreme temperatures. Through the roaring flames, only the woman's lips could be seen, and spoke: "Remember those names, Mr. Beast Boy, they will be haunting you and the rest of the Titans soon enough……skkk-heee……like oxygen, they are easily reactive, and will assimilate with whatever they destroy……hee-skkk……and they are at every corner……and they are what contributes to these flames……………he-skkk-heee……watch me burn and know that this is the price of failure……! Heeeeh……and also……"

Every anatomical part of the woman vaporized, besides the speaking mouth. Flash!

"……I'd suggest you to run."

In a moment of rapture, the crimson flames faded and was washed over with black, once again.

Flash! A 'new' pair of red eyes.

And a beastly snarl.

The atmosphere of the room darkened, more so than any sewer or depressed graveyard. A shadow that loomed over the sun, and a roar that could awaken the dead to kill them in repeat.

"Srrrrrrkkkk-Kaaaaaaahhh!"

Beast Boy snapped out of his reverie, and his eyes widened at the sight of the something unknown. He quickly located where Cyborg's body remained and leapt halfway with Raven roughly carried on his shoulders.

Flash!

Black flames encircled around the changeling under a second. Beast Boy yelped, but only from surprise, not pain.

"Wh-what the heck?" Still enwrapped by the dark flames, he was slammed aside to the ground, without the unconscious Raven on his back.

The female Titan was being raised higher into the dimension of dark flames, being scrutinized by the entity of sudden appearance.

A moment of an ancient pulse.

A red, pulse.

Raven tensed, her body jolted, with her mouth agape, she opened her eyes……

The unknown essence pulsated with contagion effect, but bolted to a halt as four bloody eyes quaked and narrowed in utter, confounding….

Waves of black and ripples of grey, then…

Flash!

"RaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAHHHH!"