Fan Fiction ❯ After The End ❯ Double Cross ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, unfortunately. Any views or opinions expressed in this fan-fiction are strictly those of the author, me. The latter statement is probably just a formality, unless I somehow work my love of all things Canadian (GO CANADA) into this fan-fiction. Cheese is the root of all evil. If I were to use one word to describe all of the themes to all of my fics so far, I wonder what that word would be. Happy multicolored explosions in the sky day. I didn't see any fireworks go off on the fourth of July. I want to go to college so I can get out of this hell hole so bad.

 

Please Read and review. Constructive criticism wanted.

 

Chapter 6: Double Cross

 

Mere minutes after Raven departed from the outskirts of Jump City with Beast Boy in tow, the half destroyed city was crawling with Arkaens, each with a Gredien close behind. Each had the same order, and none would cease their mission until their targets were found. They were swarming the city in numbers that were previously unimaginable, rounding up every human they could find. Luckily, they could not catch what they could not see and the shadows provided a perfect place for some to hide.

 

Robin crouched in the shadows with a hand on Starfire's shoulder silently ordering her to do the same. The boy wonder had heard something coming, and in times like these it was far better to be safe than dead. He had known something like this might have happened, and he was only sorry that he could not find a way to get Cyborg to safety with them. His mechanical friend had shut down an hour ago, and the only thing they could do to protect him was to hide3 him under a large pile of rubble and hope that he was not found. It was a chance, but they had no other choice at the moment. They were in immediate danger, and they had to flee.

 

With the seemingly endless army of Trigon's followers searching the city, the two remaining Titans were forced to leave far sooner than they had planned. They originally intended to lay low until they were certain that Raven was too far off to see them following her if she looked back, and with beast Boy's communicator giving off his exact location, they could wait days to avoid being seen if they wanted to. Yet, all that had changed with the invasion. They had to leave now, but the various aliens roaming the city made their escape a lot slower than they needed it to be.

 

Both the remaining Titans silently hid in the shadows, praying that they would not be seen as two Arkaens and a Gredien passed by. The aliens were searching, and doing too good of a job of it Robin had to admit. They did not leave any corner unsearched, and he briefly wondered if the shadows would be enough to mask their presence from them. Suddenly, the Gredien turned its attention in the direction of Robin and Starfire, causing the masked teen's blood to run cold. He desperately clasped a hand over Starfire's mouth to help suppress a shriek he knew she was fighting. He could only watch and pray as the Gredien drew ever closer to their location.

 

Without warning, one of the Arkaens let out a yelp which was directly followed by a growl, and the Gredien immediately swiftly spun around and ran to catch up with its two masters, who were slowly walking away from the alley Robin and Starfire hid. The boy wonder could only guess was the Arkaen had just ordered the other two to follow him. Letting out a breath of relief, and released his hand from Starfire's mouth who immediately let out a held in eep. They were safe for now, but they had to keep moving. They had to get out of the city. They had to get someplace safe to prepare for the next phase of their plan. They only hoped that Beast Boy did not run into any trouble completing his part of the first phase of the plan. Otherwise, they were screwed.

 

Slowly, Robin stood to his feet and scanned the area, checking to see if any more servants of Trigon were around to see their escape. Fortunately, the coast seemed to be clear as far as he could see, so he gently tugged on Starfire's arm to let her know that she could get up now. Reluctantly, the frightened Tameranean stood to her full height, but latched herself to Robin's arm desperate for comfort. The fact that they could be caught and possibly even killed at any moment scared the young, alien girl beyond anything else that had happened in her lifetime, but she was comforted by the fact that Robin was there with her to help her get through this. He had always comforted her.

 

“Come on,” Robin spoke softly as he took a few steps forward, “we need to get going. It'll be all right. I promise. We're almost out of the city.” He forced a smile to his face to try and make the red headed alien regain her nerves. If she saw him show her that it was okay, then maybe she would believe it. She did not, but it was the thought that counted, though she never quite understood that Earth saying. Forcing herself to be brave, Starfire matched Robin's speed as they neared the exit to the city. It was a slow walk at first, but it soon turned into a full fledged run the closer that they got to the edge of the city.

 

“Starfire,” Robin spoke now at full volume, no longer caring about who heard him. If anything was close enough to hear him, they would see them when they emerged from the city. He could only hope that they were alone. “I want you to grab a hold of me tight, okay.” Starfire quickly complied and Robin lifted her slender form off of her feet as he continued to run. They each held each other as tightly as they could, not wanting to let go. “Now,” the boy wonder continued, “as soon as we're at the edge of the city, I want you to fly as high as you can as fast as you can away from here, okay. Don't be low enough to where an Arkaen can get, but don't be too high to where I can't breathe properly.”

 

Starfire nodded in understanding and hugged Robin even tighter than before, slightly cutting off the circulation in his chest but there was no time to complain right now. Robin ignored the numbness spreading and ran faster until the two remaining Titans were mere feet away from loosing the cover of the city. After one final stride, Robin leapt into the air and put all of his faith in his female companion to get them to safety. “Starfire,” he yelled, “now!”

 

The alien princess focused on her powers, and both she and the one in her arms were swiftly carried up into the sky. A feeling of relief flowed over both of the Titans as they began their journey towards wherever Beast Boy was, or at least where his communicator lies. However, their unspoken celebration was cut short when something warm latched itself around Robin's leg, causing the duo to suddenly stop in mid flight when whatever it was became taught. Both of the two Titans looked back towards the city in shock to see a single Arkaen standing at the edge with its tentacle outstretched and wrapped around Robin's leg.

 

“Robin!” Starfire yelled in panic before a sudden rush of anger flowed through her, and her eyes began to glow green. She had to save Robin. Struggling to maintain her hold on Robin, Starfire carefully aimed her eye lasers at the tentacle before unleashing everything she had on it. Her attack hit the tentacle just below where it held Robin, but she did not stop. Using every bit of power she had, Starfire maintained her attack on the tentacle as long as she could before being forced to cease before they fell out of the sky from exhaustion. To her horror, the tentacle was not only still latched onto Robin, but it did not seem like it was even scratched nor did the Arkaen seem like it was in any pain at all.

 

Robin tried to remain calm as he felt himself being pulled closer to the Arkaen. Knowing that Starfire was not about to let him go, he had to find a way out of his situation for bother of their sakes. And then, it hit him. The body and tentacles of this creature were almost invulnerable, but there is one place on a species that is always the weakness, no matter what it is. Carefully, Robin took out a bird-a-rang from his utility belt. It was his only hope, and he had to aim it just right. If he missed, the Arkaen would know what they were up to and he would not get a second chance.

 

Taking a deep breath, Robin aimed at his target and threw his projectile with everything he had in him. The bird-a-rang was dead on as it flew through the air, and the Arkaen was too caught up in watching its two targets to even notice the small, red object flying straight towards him. In mere seconds after he threw his attack, the masked teen heard a loud yelping sound coming from the Arkaen. Confused, the Arkaen released his grip on Robin's leg before it knew what it was doing. By the time it realized what it had done, the two Titans were long gone, leaving a blinded Arkaen in their wake.

 

llllllllllllllllllll

 

Raven looked down at the sleeping Titan in her arms, somewhat annoyed that she had allowed him to fall asleep. He was her servant. He should be the one catering to her whim and letting her sleep while he flew them to their destination. She contemplated violently waking the green teen in her arms up and berating him, but such thoughts had no merit. If there was one thing that beast Boy had ever said right, it was his assumption that she could not hurt him. It went against her entire Rage filled persona, but she could not ever bring herself to purposely harm beast Boy and she hated the emotion that was the reason.

 

The emotion was the one that Rage could never get rid of when she gained control of Raven's body, and it was the emotion that just happened to be the exact opposite of her own. She could not be farther from it, but it still seemed to govern her own actions whenever it pleased. And right now, it wanted nothing more than to just keep flying while watching Beast Boy sleep peacefully. However, deep down, that was the thing that Rage wanted as well. Yet, her own desires were forced to take a back seat to the needs of her reality.

 

Together, Beast Boy and Raven had been traveling all day now, and they were finally reaching their destination. She had to wake Beast Boy from his slumber, even if she secretly enjoyed how he unknowingly snuggled against her as she flew on her back with him on top of her. Yet, Raven knew that if she arrived at the foot of her father in this positing, there would be questions that she would prefer be left unanswered, at least for now. Reluctantly, Raven guided herself along with the sleeping Beast Boy towards the solid ground below.

 

When they were mere feet above the rough terrain, Raven forced her natural anger and hatred back to the surface while doing her best to suppress the uncontrollable feelings the one remaining emotions continuously produced. Once satisfied that all anyone looking on her would see would be her rage, Raven let go of Beast Boy, allowing him to swiftly fall the few feet to meet with an unwelcome stop as the changeling hit the hard ground but not nearly hard enough to damage him. However, a gasp of surprise and a cry of discomfort erupted from him as he struggled through his forced awakening as well as the discomfort to regain full consciousness.

 

“Gah!” Beast Boy cried in surprise as he was jolted back into the realm of the conscious. It was a less than pleasant awakening, but it was in the past now, though it was more recent than he would have preferred. Groggily, Beast Boy forced himself to sit upright and face the floating red eyed Raven above him. “You could have just shook me or even just spoke to me until I woke up, you know? I could have done without the fall and definitely without the stop.”

 

“Look on the bright side,” Rave n smiled sinisterly. “At least I descended to the point where it would only be mildly uncomfortable when you awoke. I could have just dropped you when we were both miles above the ground, and considering the memories of your sleeping habits that I recall, you would have only woken up after I scraped your remains off of the ground. Perhaps you should be a little more grateful that I did not go with my first instinct after all.” Her first instinct was implanted in her mind by the rebel emotion, but she would never tell him that.

 

Beast Boy laughed nervously and stood to his feet. “Point well taken, Ra… Should I call you Rage now, or are you still going by Raven?”

 

Raven stared at the changeling below her blankly before lowering herself onto the ground. “I am Raven,” she stated simply.

 

“Right,” Beast Boy smiled weakly. “Um… so why the sudden wake up call? I'd ask if we were there yet, but you banned me from saying that about a year ago... so-”

 

“We are almost to my father,” Raven growled slightly and glared at the city just past the horizon. “I cannot barge into his domain as we were. I would not only be punished, but you would be killed or possibly much worse. And, as I have told you before, I do not wish to find another slave when you will suffice. To keep you alive, you must know a few things.”

 

Beast Boy gulped, not liking the way she put it.

 

“First,” the half demon began, “through the rest of the time you are in his presence, do now say a word under any circumstances unless he has directly addressed you. Secondly, you must do whatever it is commanded of you. Chances are, there will be nothing needed of you, but you must be prepared to do anything. Violate those, and you will most likely die. Follow those, and you just might survive. However, the last thing you might need to know is that my father is more than ruthless at times, and he will not hesitate to do something like murder just for his own amusement. Pray that you are not chosen for that role.”

 

With that, Raven conjured up a dark disk of energy for them both to stand on as they made their way towards the city that currently contained Trigon, and what Beast Boy hoped would not be his death.

 

llllllllllllllllllll

 

Not far from Raven and Beast Boy's position, a more recently ravished city was the temporary home of Trigon. This city was in all intents and purposes, the front lines of Trigon's conquest of Earth. Farther from the city, the defenses of Earth were lined up and prepared to defend and repel and further advancement from Trigon. Luckily for them, Trigon had stopped ceased his attack at this city for reasons unknown to anyone but the demon. Yet, he had planned to provide his two generals with that information when they arrived, and he would not have to wait long.

 

“You called for me master,” a sinister voice rang from within the shadows before an equally sinister looking figure emerged as its owner. “As you know, I… live… to serve you, though I would hardly call this living when I am not much more than armor and bones.”

 

“Are you complaining, servant,” Trigon narrowed his eyes at Slade. “I gave you life again and now you only complain. Would you rather be completely dead, servant?”

 

“Not at all,” Slade spoke eerily calm. “I meant no disrespect by my comment, master. I merely wished to make the observation that you have yet to fulfill your end of our little bargain to return me to my full capacity, not to say that I doubted your intentions once. I would just prefer a more speedy solution to my problem than I am currently being given. My body, my mind, my soul… returned to me, if it is not too much to ask of you now.”

 

Trigon seemed to sigh in disappointment. “Very well. If that is what you wish, I shall honor my end of out bargain in light of you fulfilling yours.” Trigon narrowed his eyes at Slade and all four began to glow with a blood red energy. Immediately, Slade's body began to emit a similar red glow and the villain was lifted several feet into the air. The loud sounds of bones cracking along with a slurping type sound of organs and skin reforming filled the surrounding area. Then without warning, Trigon's eyes resumed their normal, yellow glow, causing Slade to fall to the ground breathing heavily.

 

Riding on her dark disk of energy, Raven and Beast Boy descended to her father's side in front of Slade, who fell to one knee in exhaustion. Trigon made no move to recognize the presence of his daughter, and Raven made no move to alert him. She just placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder to signify that he should stay still and quiet.

 

“At long last”, Slade chuckled to himself as he struggled, stumbling now and then, to his feet to face his master, “I am whole again.”

 

“So it would seem,” Trigon spoke coldly. Glancing behind Slade, Trigon stared at the group of Arkaens gathered behind his general. Smiling wickedly, he stated without a second thought, “Kill him.”

 

“What?” Slade yelled is disbelief before feeling several warm tentacles wrapping themselves around various parts of his body. “What are you doing?!? I am your loyal servant!”

 

“Are you?” Trigon questioned laughing. “I can sense your feelings, you worthless human. I could from the moment I summoned you to me. I sensed your pathetic concern for this miserable planet with each victory my forces brought me. I gave you life again. I gave you immortality, but you would have rather been a feeble human again than to rule as my general. You are not loyal to me, human. You never were. Though you hid it well, your loyalties lie with the humans, and you will share their fate.” With that, Trigon nodded and his truly loyal servants proceeded in stretching Slade's limbs and body parts well past their limits.

 

Trigon snickered as the sounds of his one general's screams reached his ears before turning to face his daughter, recognizing her presence for the first time. “Hello, dear daughter,” he spoke evilly. “Is this the one?”