Yu Yu Hakusho/Teen Titans:

"Darkness Returns"

Chapter 8: "Ignite the Darkness"

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi, Shonen Jump, and Cartoon Network. Teen Titans belongs to DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and Cartoon Network. Neither one belongs to me.

Author's note: I'm certain that you're still pissed with me for what I did in the last chapter, having some of your favorite characters get beaten up. Don't worry; the villains are going to get theirs soon enough.

By the way, Sword Master Jeff was kind enough to note some things in his review. The Rose Sword technique was also used by him, but I was inspired by an attack that apparently appears later in the series. I didn't remember the name, so I dubbed it "Rose Sword." Another thing was that the title of the last chapter was also the title of a Teen Titans fanfic. I assure you that it's pure coincidence; now let's go on.

Timeline: YYH, a few years after the series. TT, a few years into the future.

"Since everyone else has already fought," Rando said, "I see no need to activate the selector. We all know who's going to fight now."

Cyborg, Changeling, and Chu stepped into the ring. Raven floated into the ring, Genkai somersaulted into the ring, and Hiei simply appeared in the ring in a black blur.

"One of us is going to fight Rando's team in the next round," Hiei stated. "This fight happens only to see who will actually stand a chance against them."

"You got a point there, dog," Cyborg agreed. "If you can't beat us, or we can't beat you, then whoever loses has no hope in hell of beating Rando."

"Exactly," Raven stated.

"I say bring it on, mates," Chu challenged.

"Yeah, we're ready for you!" Changeling boasted.

"Are you?" Genkai asked, staring into Changeling's dark green eyes. "Are you ready for us?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Changeling asked.

"It means that you shouldn't make such claims if you can't back them up," Genkai replied. "In the vernacular of today, 'put your money where your mouth is.'"

"Whoa," Raptor said. "They're both talking a pretty good game. Now we just have to see if they can back it up."

"Enough with the talkin', mates," Chu said. "Let's get this party started!"

"My sentiments exactly," Hiei said, removing his cloak to reveal a sleeveless black shirt and loose black pants. Also, his right arm was tightly bound in gauze wrappings.

"What's with the bandages?" Changeling asked.

"I'm not going to bother using that technique on you," Hiei replied. "I'm saving it for Rando."

"Rai, kaminari, ikazuchi --- Rava Shock!" Cyborg shouted, firing the indigo techno-spirit lightning bolt at Hiei, who dodged in a blur of speed.

Changeling shifted into a thunderbird and thunder could be heard booming in the air. The crash of lightning could be heard as well.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven shouted, creating a tidal wave of black psychic energy that crashed down on Chu. Or rather, it would have crashed down on him if he weren't so fast.

"Nice try, sheila!" Chu shouted.

"My name . . . is Raven," Raven retorted. She fired another blast of shadow-telekinetic energy but in the shape of a raven.

"Nice birdie!" Chu shouted as he dodged once again.

Meanwhile, a lightning bolt crashed through the domed roof of the arena and Cyborg caught it in his cannon arm. The lightning coursed through him and turned indigo before focusing itself into his cannon. He then fired the lightning right at Hiei, who tried to dodge but got nailed in the arm.

"Thanks for the assist, Changeling," Cyborg said.

No problem, Changeling said telepathically. He brought down more lightning, all of it aimed at Hiei, who was dodging the bolts. He lunged at Chu and they began a fight at hyper-speed.

Genkai fired the Spirit Gun at Changeling, who dodged the blast. I'm a thunderbird, remember? he chided her. Speed of lightning, baby.

Genkai just chuckled and dodged a Rava Shock attack from Cyborg. That didn't deter the flesh-blood-and-metal amalgam one bit. "Rai, kaminari, ikazuchi --- Lightning Sphere!"

A sphere of lightning launched itself at Genkai and trapped her inside, giving her quite a shock.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Cyborg quipped.

"Claw of the Darkness Flame!" Raven shouted, shaping her powers into a claw made of black fire, which grabbed Cyborg and soundly threw him out of the ring.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . ."

Cyborg quickly returned to the ring. "Nice try, Raven, but you're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna beat me!"

"I know," Raven said. "I would have been surprised if that was all I needed to defeat you."

Cyborg and Raven began fighting hand-to-hand, Raven levitating into the air to deliver swift, powerful kicks to Cyborg, who was blocking the best he could.

"Taser grip!" Cyborg shouted, grabbing Raven's ankle and shocking her.

"Raven!" Hiei shouted, and broke off his fight with Chu to go after Cyborg. "Fist of the Mortal Flame!" Flames engulfed his fist and he punched Cyborg hard, sending the young metal man flying almost out of the ring. "Are you all right?"

"I'll live," Raven replied.

Changeling shifted himself into a fire dragon and breathed flames at Hiei and Raven. Raven simply created a shield to protect herself and Hiei.

"Raven, drop the shield," Hiei said.

"What?" Raven asked.

"Trust me, my love," Hiei replied. "Drop the shield."

"If you say so," Raven said warily, reluctantly dropping her shield.

"Come on, Changeling!" Hiei shouted. "Try it again!"

You asked for it, three-eyes! Changeling exclaimed, unleashing another fire breath attack. Hiei let the flames strike him, only for them to simply swirl around him like an inferno crossed with a tornado. What the hell's going on?

"Don't you remember?" Hiei asked. "I'm a fire demon." He concentrated the flames into his hand and then shot them as a deadly blast to Changeling's chest.

Changeling fell out of the ring, returned to his human state and his skin charred.

"Changeling!" Terra shouted.

"Now that was brutal," Kuwabara said. "But that's Hiei for you."

"I don't even know why that thing even bothers," Hiei said as the countdown commenced.

"Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one. Changeling is out of Match 4 of the first round of the Shadow Combat."

"Hey, Hiei, why don't you try some of that stuff on me?!" Cyborg challenged.

"You'll regret those words," Hiei said.

"Actually, the only one who'll have regrets is you, mate," Chu's voice said. Hiei whirled around just in time to see Chu deliver a vicious kick to his midsection.

"Nice one," Hiei said.

Raven fired another raven-shaped blast of dark telekinetic energy at Chu, who dodged again at super-speed. He started moving around so quickly that he was almost invisible.

"At the speed he's moving at, I'll never be able to catch him," Raven stated.

"You won't," Genkai said, her fist glowing. "I suggest you get out of the way."

Sensing what Genkai had in mind, Raven levitated into the air, taking Hiei with her. Genkai fired the Shotgun in its omni-directional form, ensuring that nothing that was still in the ring would be able to escape its force. Not even Chu could dodge it, since the blasts were everywhere.

Both Cyborg and Chu found themselves soundly blasted out of the ring.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . ."

"Aw, shit," Rinku said. "Chu's really done for now."

"Two . . . one. Cyborg and Chu are out of Match 4 of the first round of the Shadow Combat. The winner of Match 4 is the team of Genkai, Raven, and Hiei."

"I guess you guys get to face Rando's team now," Cyborg said.

As for Changeling, Terra was tending to him.

"You all right?" she asked.

"Never better, Terra," Changeling replied, managing to smile.

"No fair," Chu pouted. "How come I don't have a pretty girl tending to my wounds?"

"He just got beaten up, and he can still think about girls?" Rinku asked. "I will never understand him."

"I don't think any of us will," Touya added.

"You will have a quarter of an hour to rest," Slade said, stepping into the ring with Rando. "Those of us that won our fights should use that time to prepare for the semifinals." He turned his gaze to Raptor and Terra. "Raptor, Terra, I look forward to facing you."

"We're looking forward to it, too, Slade," Terra retorted.

"And speaking of people we're looking forward to facing," Rando said, "I'm looking forward to facing off against a pair of very lovely psychics." He chuckled cruelly as he looked at Genkai and Raven. "Defeating you and taking your powers will be sweet."

"Dream on, Rando," Raven said. "You'll never get your hands on my and Genkai's powers."

"Rando," Hiei said, "prepare to suffer greatly. I will not allow you to lay a single finger upon Raven."

"I'm sure you won't allow me to lay a finger on Raven," Rando replied, "but I doubt you'll be able to do anything to stop me." He laughed as he stepped off the stage with Slade.

After Slade and Rando and their teams were gone, the fighters convened.

"We have to win," Raptor stated. "If either of our teams loses, then Slade's team or Rando's team advances to the final round."

"Slade's not winning this," Terra vowed. "I won't let him win."

"And Rando certainly will not win," Genkai vowed. "I will see to that personally."

"Since you're fighting him, you'll get the chance to do so," Suzuka said.

"Good luck, sweet Genkai," Shishi said, smiling softly at her.

"Thank you," Genkai said.

Fifteen minutes later

Raptor's team stepped into the ring, and so did Slade's team.

"So once again, we meet in combat," Slade purred.

"What made you join forces with Rando?" Raptor asked.

"Haven't we been through this already?" Slade asked. "Mutual profit. We win, Rando gets Genkai's and Raven's powers and I get you and Terra."

"No way, Slade," Terra replied. "I will never serve you again!"

"And I will never become your apprentice again!" Raptor added.

"We'll see about that," Slade replied, in that cold confident purr that Raptor and Terra had come to despise. He drew his katana. "We will see."

"Yeah," Raptor spat, shifting his force powers into an invisible sword.

The younger Toguro summoned his full strength and grasped the hilt of a sword that was once his older brother. "Overkill, perhaps. But if you're even half as good as Slade insists you are, then I will need all my strength to deal with you."

"I consider that a compliment," Raptor replied. "Now let's do this."

"If everyone's got a sword, then I should have one of my own," Terra said. Her hands glowed golden and a stream of dirt ripped out from beneath the ring. It came into Terra's hand and hardened into a sword. "Earth Blade."

Raptor and Terra went after Slade, while Jin was stuck fighting the Toguro Brothers. Toguro slashed at Jin with his sword, but Jin jumped out of the way and into the air. Then he came down spinning so fast he created a tornado around himself.

"Tornado Dive!" Jin shouted, impacting with Toguro. While the attack had the effect of pushing Toguro back, it didn't exactly knock him out of the ring.

"Nice try, wind ninja," Toguro sneered, grabbing Jin by the throat. "But not good enough." He viciously hurled Jin out of the ring, and Jin brutally collided with the wall separating the ring from the audience's seats.

"Jin!" Touya shouted.

"Aw, don't worry about me, Touya," Jin said, smiling brightly. "I'll be fine." He got up and flew back into the ring, rotating his arms so quickly that a tornado formed around each one. "Tornado Fists!" He punched Toguro hard with both fists.

"Ah, you're quite strong, Jin," Toguro complimented. "But at the peak of my strength, you can't do much damage to me. On the other hand, I can do you plenty of damage." He punched Jin hard in the gut, making him crumple to the arena floor.

"He is horrible," Starfire said.

"You're right," Yusuke agreed. "Toguro's completely merciless. He says he doesn't enjoy suffering, but he has no remorse for what he does."

"That bastard," Touya spat.

Raptor and Terra were matching Slade move for move. However, Slade had the edge when it came to experience. That, and he had a super-powered katana that could leech an opponent's rei-ki.

"You've improved," he purred. He turned his gaze upon Terra, even as they fought. "Why would you want to return to the Titans? It's not like they're really your friends."

"What the hell would you know about friends?!" Terra asked, incensed.

"Please, Terra," Slade continued. "If the Titans were really your friends, they wouldn't have let you run into my arms the way you did." He chuckled. "I see."

"See what, you bastard?" Terra asked.

Slade blocked Terra's next strike with her Earth Blade and kicked her in her midriff. "It's the green-skinned one. Changeling. You're in love with him. You hope to win his forgiveness. Silly girl; they'll never forgive you, or trust you, so just come back to me."

"NEVER!!!" Terra screamed, her eyes glowing golden. She slashed the ring in a straight line, creating a schism. Sharp, jagged rock formations emerged along the schism, running in Slade's direction.

"Chaos Rhapsody!" Slade shouted, slashing downward with the katana. A wave of crackling darkness raced along the schism, shattering the rock formations. A pillar of earth burst out from beneath Terra's feet, elevating her away from Slade's attack. Unfortunately, the attack shattered the pillar and Terra jumped onto one of the boulders that the pillar had shattered into.

Raptor fired a volley of force blasts at Slade, who blocked them all. "Did you really expect that to do anything?" Slade asked.

Raptor lunged at Slade and their swords clashed, invisible blade against enchanted metal.

"Remember when you were my apprentice?" Slade asked. "I told you during our fight then that in a few years you might pose a threat to me. I see that I was right."

"Save the compliments," Raptor sneered, kicking Slade hard. He followed up with a hard punch and a slash with his force sword.

Terra came back and struck with her Earth Blade. Unfortunately for her, Slade blocked it and the blade connected with the kanji on his katana. Suddenly, the Earth Blade shattered and its remnants were absorbed into the katana.

"Terra, look out!" Changeling shouted.

Slade slashed her with the now-supercharged katana and the force sent her flying almost out of the ring.

"Terra!" Changeling shouted, panicked and running to the ring. "Are you ok?"

Terra finally opened her eyes and smiled reassuringly at Changeling. "I'll be fine." She got up again. "Slade! I'm not done with you yet, and it's gonna be a long time before I am! Twin Earth Blade!" This time, two streams of earth ripped out from underneath the ring and came into Terra's hands, hardening into swords.

Meanwhile, Toguro was about to finish Jin off when a force blast sent him reeling against the edge of the ring.

"Hello, Toguro," Raptor said. "Why don't you fight someone your own size?"

Toguro's only response was to attack with his sword, which Raptor caught. However, Raptor didn't expect the sword to shift into a whip and entangle his arms. Then again, that sword had once been Toguro's older brother so he should have expected that.

Toguro pulled Raptor to him and viciously knee-jabbed him in the gut.

"Raptor!" Starfire cried out.

Raptor coughed a little before smirking at Toguro. "So you need my hands bound before you can start beating me up? Guess that just proves what a thug you are."

"Shut up," Toguro intoned before throwing him sky-high. Raptor simply stopped himself in midair and then flew at Toguro, delivering a flying kick that nearly knocked him out of the ring.

"Y'know, Genkai told me that you were a decent human once," Raptor continued. "Someone who fought with honor, dignity, and respect. Kinda hard to believe that in the light of what you've become."

"For someone trained by the world's greatest detective, you know nothing," Toguro sneered.

"He knows enough to know what sort of monster you've become," Genkai said.

"Twister Kick!" Jin shouted, spinning toward Toguro in what looked like an upside-down split. He spun so fast that the air around him became a deadly windstorm. His feet struck Toguro with the force of a tornado.

"Mind if I give you a hand, Jin?" Raptor asked, peppering Toguro with multiple invisible energy bursts.

"Whoa, I've never seen Toguro staggered quite like this before," Yusuke said. "Even when I beat him, I don't think I gave him that bad a beating."

"Well, Raptor and Jin are far more skilled as fighters than you were," Hiei said.

Meanwhile, Terra's Twin Earth Blade was clashing with Slade's enchanted katana.

"All you do is use people, Slade," Terra spat. "Use them to get your own way, to achieve your own selfish ambitions. I don't think you'd know what a friend was if a hundred of them dropped on your lap!"

"If a hundred friends dropped on Slade's lap, wouldn't he be buried under them?" Changeling asked.

Hiei merely grunted in response.

"At least I do not lie," Slade countered. "I do not make promises that I do not keep."

"Changeling kept his promise to me!" Terra screamed. "Raptor just figured it out on his own! You knew he would, didn't you? That's why you tried to make me doubt the Titans, so that I'd run away from them and straight to you!"

"Too true," Slade admitted, blocking her Earth Blades with his katana. He ducked and tried to knock her legs out from under her, but she jumped over his leg and kicked him.

"The Titans may have been the only people to not reject me, and you ruined that for me!" Terra yelled, following up with a slash from each sword.

"I ruined nothing for you," Slade retorted. "You made the choice to come to me."

"Yeah, after you manipulated me into doubting my friends," Terra snapped.

"Believe what you want," Slade said.

"Don't let him mess with your head, Terra!" Changeling shouted. "Just ignore him and keep fighting!"

"You stay out of this," Slade sneered and slashed the air with his katana, creating an arc of crackling darkness that slammed into Changeling, knocking him out cold.

"Changeling!" Terra screamed.

"Changeling!" Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg shouted.

Terra turned to Slade, her eyes glowing golden with pure fury and her hair blown upward by an invisible breeze. "You're going to pay for what you did to him, Slade! Aftershock!" She stomped the ring and a wave of energy traveled through it, exploding upward at Slade once it reached him.

"Ahhhh!" Slade cried out as the jagged pieces of stone struck him. Terra used her powers to levitate and throw even more stones at him. Then she lifted three boulders and guided them in a triangulated course toward Slade. He leaped up to dodge them, but once they shattered against each other, the force sent him flying out of the ring.

The countdown began.

"Stay down!" Terra screamed, binding him within the earth.

"No fair, you can't do that!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Why not?" Terra asked.

"It just isn't honorable," Kuwabara replied.

"Do you think honor plays any role in contests such as these?" Hiei asked. "In my experience, the strongest survive and the weaker ones fall."

"Two . . ."

"Fine!" Terra snapped and willed the earth to release its hold on Slade, who leaped back into the ring just barely in time to escape being disqualified.

"Thank you, Terra," he said, smirking underneath his mask.

"I didn't do it for you," Terra replied. "Some things are more important than revenge, and if I cheated to win, I'd be no better than you. Still, that doesn't mean I can't do this! Chains of Gaea!"

Suddenly, chains burst out from beneath the ring and ensnared Slade, binding him tightly.

The countdown began once more.

"I'd like to see you get out of this," Terra said.

Slade struggled with all his might, but the Chains of Gaea proved to be too strong even for him.

"One. Slade is out of Match 1 of the semifinals of the Shadow Combat."

Terra released the Chains of Gaea, and Slade stepped out of the ring. "Another time, Terra. Another time."

Meanwhile, Raptor and Jin were on the verge of finishing off the Toguro Brothers. Both of them leaped into the air and delivered hard flying kicks, using their powers to enhance their attacks. Toguro flew out of the ring along with his elder brother, who shifted back to his true form to try to save himself. However, Raptor hurled a veritable arsenal of invisible knives at him, ensuring that he had no place to shift his heart or brain in order to protect himself.

The countdown began one more time.

"I don't know why that thing's bothering," Yusuke said. "The Toguros're obviously beat."

"One. The Toguro Brothers are out of Match 1 of the semifinals of the Shadow Combat. The winner of Match 1 is the team of Raptor, Terra, and Jin."

"We did it," Terra said, getting out of the ring and running to Changeling. "Changeling? Changeling, speak to me!"

Changeling's dark emerald eyes fluttered open. "Hey, Terra? You won?"

"Yeah, I did," Terra replied. She looked up at Raptor and Jin and smiled. "We did."

"Now it's our turn," Hiei said, jumping into the ring at super-speed. Raven floated into the ring and Genkai jumped into the ring. Rando, Suzaku, and Karasu entered the ring at the opposite end.

"Ready to lose?" Rando asked.

"Are you?" Hiei asked.

"Enough talk," Suzaku said. "Let's get this over with."

"Yes, let's," Rando agreed. "Crimson Nova!" He started off with a barrage of crimson starbolts, which Hiei, Raven, and Genkai dodged.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven shouted, creating a shield around herself and her teammates. The crimson starbolts impacted harmlessly against it.

"Crimson Starburst!" Rando shouted, firing a crimson energy ball that exploded upon contact with Raven's shield. The explosion caused her shield to disintegrate.

"Nice trick, Rando," Raven said. She telekinetically lifted some of the debris left over from the previous fights and hurled it at Rando, who simply punched the debris into nonexistence.

"Come on, Raven, can't you do better than this?" Rando asked.

"Sure I can," Raven replied, blasting him with a bolt of shadow-psychic energy. Rando created a force shield to block, but Raven kept pushing.

"Storm of Torment!" Suzaku shouted, firing the spiritual lightning at Raven. However, Hiei leaped to intercept and got hit instead. He gritted his teeth, refusing to let the scream escape his lips.

"Hiei!" Raven shouted.

"I'll be fine, Raven," Hiei replied.

Karasu created a grenade launcher and fired it at Raven, Hiei, and Genkai. Raven created a shield to protect herself and her teammates from the grenade's explosion.

"This is really very pathetic," Rando said. "Circles of Inferno!"

"You forget, Rando, you are not the only demon who can command fire!" Hiei exclaimed. He caught the crimson fireballs in his hands and then his Mortal Flame consumed them. The Mortal Flame then wrapped around his fists and he punched Rando.

"Nice technique, Hiei," Rando said. "Mind if I borrow it? Inferno Fist!" Crimson fire wrapped around his fist and then he punched Hiei, sending him flying almost out of the ring.

Genkai fired a Spirit Gun blast at Rando, but Rando knocked it aside. "Come on, Genkai. I expect more from a master of the Spirit Wave than this!"

"Be careful what you expect," Genkai retorted. "You just might get it!" She fired a Shotgun blast at Rando, Suzaku, and Karasu, which blew them all out of the ring.

"Yeah!" Changeling shouted. "Genkai did it! They won!"

"Not . . . yet," Karasu contradicted as he stepped back into the ring with Rando and Suzaku.

"Apparently, I must take greater measures with you than I had anticipated," Suzaku said. He shifted into a strange pose.

"What is he doing?" Raven asked.

"You'll see," Suzaku replied.

"I'm not sure if I'm just seeing things, but I think there's more than one of him now," Raven said.

"Seven, to be precise," Suzaku informed her. "Black Secret Technique --- Prism of Seven."

"Ah, man, now there's nine guys for them to fight!" Cyborg exclaimed. "How are they supposed to win?"

"It's possible," Yusuke replied. "Suzaku tried that same technique on me and I kicked his ass."

"Try to beat us all now," the seven Suzakus said at once. They created bows and arrows from lightning and flew into the air, each one landing in a particular spot, surrounding Raven, Hiei, and Genkai. "Prism Storm of Torment!"

All seven Suzakus released their lightning arrows, all of them headed for the same target: Raven, Hiei, and Genkai.

Raven created another shield to protect the three of them and the arrows ricocheted off it and at the seven Suzakus, Rando, and Karasu, who all dodged. The arrows kept going, forcing those not fighting to either evade or get hit. The arrows either landed in the ground or made holes in the domed roof.

"Excellent effort, Raven," one Suzaku said. "I see why Rando wants you so badly."

"You mind rephrasing that?" Raven asked in her usual monotone.

"I've had enough of hiding and dodging," Hiei said. "It's time to take to the offensive."

"Hiei's right," Genkai agreed. "We'll never win if we're constantly evading their attacks."

Raven dropped the shield and converted the energies into black lightning that struck the Suzakus, Karasu, and Rando. Genkai fired a Shotgun blast at all nine demons. This time, Rando was prepared and he created a shield to block the attack.

"How the hell are we supposed to win when there's nine of them and three of us?" Raven asked.

"We bring it back to the original number," Hiei replied, "and that means getting rid of those extra Suzakus."

Karasu dematerialized his grenade launcher and materialized small spheres in between his fingers. Then he threw the spheres in his right hand at Raven, Hiei, and Genkai. The spheres landed at their feet and exploded in a wave of fire, light, and sound, sending all three flying out of the ring.

"Raven!" Cyborg shouted.

"Hiei!" Kurama shouted.

"Genkai!" Yusuke and Shishi shouted.

"I guess that's it for them," Rando said. "Too bad. I was really hoping they'd last longer."

"Ten . . . nine . . ."

Raven struggled to her feet and climbed back into the ring, Hiei and Genkai following, all three bruised.

"You're not getting rid of us that easily," Hiei said, drawing his katana. Raven placed her hands over Hiei's as he held the sword and they chanted together. The katana glowed black and then the glow ignited into flame.

"Raven Sword of the Darkness Flame!" they shouted, slashing with the flaming black sword so quickly it blurred into near-invisibility. When it was over, all seven Suzakus and Karasu were out of the ring and the countdown began.

"Doesn't look like they'll be getting back in any time soon," Genkai commented.

"Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one. Suzaku and Karasu are out of Match 2 of the semifinals of the Shadow Combat."

"What are you going to do without your friends?" Raven asked.

"It doesn't matter," Rando replied. "I don't need them to take you down. After all, the last fighter in the ring is the one who wins." He smirked. "Hiei, I know of your Dragon of the Darkness Flame. I can sense that you're prepared to summon it to finish me off. You won't have it that easy, for I have a dark dragon of my own --- waiting to finish you off."

"Then let's see it," Hiei challenged, unraveling the bindings on his arm.

"Certainly," Rando replied. Black-and-crimson fire spiraled around his arm and he raised that arm into the air, shooting the fire out. The black-and-crimson flames stopped in midair and created a fiery whirlpool.

"What's he doing?" Blackfire asked.

"He's summoning something," Kurama replied. "A creature of terrifying dark power."

By this time, Hiei had finished unraveling his bindings, revealing a black dragon tattoo coiled around his arm. The tattoo emitted a lurid glow, signaling that Hiei was ready to unleash its power.

Out of the whirlpool came a dragon made of black-and-crimson fire.

"The Meikaihiryu," Touya breathed out, shocked.

"Meikai what?" Changeling asked.

"The Fire Dragon of the Netherworld," Kurama translated. "It is said to be even more vicious and hard to control than the Dragon of the Darkness Flame."

Black lightning crashed in the skies and hellish red lightning crashed alongside it, an omen of the clash that was to come between the two infernal dragons.

The Meikaihiryu flew right at Rando, entering his arm. "Ready for the end?" Rando asked.

"Are you?" Hiei asked confidently, although inside he was shaking. If the Meikaihiryu was even more powerful than his Dragon of the Darkness Flame . . .

No! he thought. I can't think that way. I have to win. If I lose, Raven and Genkai will lose their powers --- and lives --- to this maniac, and I won't let that happen.

"Meikaihiryu!" Rando shouted, shooting the netherworld fire out of his arm in the form of a black-and-crimson dragon-shaped wave.

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" Hiei shouted, unleashing the black fire dragon. The two dark dragons clashed viciously, pushing against each other.

Rando growled as he pushed with his Meikaihiryu. I won't let him beat me!

Hiei cursed under his breath. The Meikaihiryu was proving to be even tougher than he'd thought. It wouldn't budge so easily.

Sensing his plight, Raven gathered her own energies. After all, Hiei wasn't the only one who could wield the Darkness Flame.

"Azarath . . . Metrion . . . Zinthos!" she chanted, an aura of black flame rising around her. "Raven of the Darkness Flame!"

The black flame aura shaped itself into a raven and then flew at the Meikaihiryu, joining with the Dragon of the Darkness Flame to push the netherworld dragon back.

"You won't defeat me so easily!" Rando snarled. However, the strain on all three darkness-based fire techniques proved too much and they broke away from each other, headed back for their wielders!

"Oh, no!" Raptor cried out.

"They will all be consumed by their own techniques!" Starfire exclaimed, horrified.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama were still maintaining their cool. "Not quite, Starfire," Yusuke contradicted. "We've seen this before; trust us."

The Darkness Flame enveloped Hiei and Raven, while the Meikaihiryu encased Rando. However, when the black and infernal flames cleared, the three fighters were still standing, but changed.

Hiei's shirt had been burned off, exposing his chest and his Jagan was alight with dark fire. Raven's eyes had turned completely purple with black flames burning within, and her cloak had apparently evaporated.

As for Rando, his eyes were now pupil-less crimson-on-black and the elaborate tattoo on his face seemed to emit a dark light.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing," Jin said.

"Me neither, mates," Chu agreed. "But you gotta admit, it's pretty ripper."

"So this is the true power of the Darkness Flame," Genkai whispered. "Hopefully, it will be able to stand against the power of the Meikaihiryu."

"You see, Rando?" Hiei asked, his voice even darker than usual. "This is how you truly master the Dragon of the Darkness Flame! I no longer merely wield its power; I have become its very personification. I am the Dragon of the Darkness Flame!"

"As my lover is the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, I am now Raven of the Darkness Flame," Raven said, her voice cold and eerie. "Rando. If you truly think you can take my powers, then you are welcome to make the attempt. Of course, I can't guarantee you'll survive."

Rando growled. "Fools! Your Darkness Flame is strong, but I have the power of the netherworld in my veins now! Do you think you can beat me?!"

"Yes," Hiei replied.

Rando charged at Hiei and Raven, striking with rapid punches and kicks. Hiei and Raven blocked and retaliated with punches and kicks of their own.

Rando leaped into the air and landed with a vicious kick that Hiei and Raven barely sidestepped, leaving a crater in the ring. Raven floated into the air and repeatedly kicked Rando, many of her kicks getting through. Finally, Rando got tired of her kicking him and he caught her ankle, slamming her to the ground and swinging her out of the ring.

Raven stopped herself in midair and flew back at Rando, delivering swift, brutal punches and kicks to the human-hunter. Hiei leaped in to assist her, even though from the looks of things she didn't need any help.

Hiei and Raven double-kicked Rando and the force of it created a ripple through the air.

Rando growled. "Your energy will run out sooner or later."

"He is right," Hiei admitted.

"Then we'll just have to take him down before we run out of energy," Raven concluded.

Rando charged at the couple, punching Hiei and kicking Raven in the stomach. Hiei and Raven got up and redoubled their assault on Rando, who caught Hiei's katana when he tried to use it to slice Rando in half. Then he broke the katana in half and tossed the two pieces outside the ring.

The sight of the broken katana filled Raven with so much rage that she viciously attacked Rando, apparently intending to beat him to death.

"I've never seen her so angry before," Cyborg said.

"Yeah, not even when she freaked out on Dr. Light and Inferno," Changeling added.

Rando finally caught her fist in his hand and squeezed, threatening to break the bones in that fist. Raven punched with her other fist, but Rando caught that, too.

"Raven!" Hiei shouted, running at Rando and tackling him from the side, forcing him to release his grip on Raven. "Leave her the hell alone, you psychopath."

"You're getting tired, aren't you, Hiei?" Rando asked tauntingly.

"So what?" Hiei retorted. "I've still got enough energy to finish you."

"Really?" Rando asked, and then he struck Hiei so hard he knocked him out of the ring.

"Hiei!" Raven shouted.

"You can join him," Rando said and grabbed Raven by the throat, throwing her out of the ring alongside Hiei.

"Ten . . . nine . . ."

"So tired . . ." Raven murmured, vainly attempting to fight off sleep.

"Seven . . . six . . ."

"We must rest now and place our faith in Genkai," Hiei murmured, also trying to fight off sleep.

"One. Hiei and Raven are out of Match 2 of the semifinals of the Shadow Combat."

"Now it's just you and me, Genkai," Rando purred.

Genkai's response was to fire the Spirit Gun, which Rando knocked aside.

"Come on, master of the Spirit Wave," Rando taunted. "Show me what you got!"

Genkai charged at Rando and attacked with super-fast punches and kicks. However, Rando blocked them all with ridiculous ease.

"You're not even a challenge for me now!" he scoffed. "I'll end your suffering fast, though." He grabbed her by the throat and hurled her out of the ring, where she hit her head on the partition separating the audience seats from the ring.

"Genkai!" Terra, Yusuke, and Shishi shouted.

"No!" Shishi cried out.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one. Genkai is out of Match 2 of the semifinals of the Shadow Combat. The winner is Rando."

Rando yawned. "That was tiring." He smirked at the sleeping Raven and the unconscious Genkai. "I'd take your powers now, but the only way to do that is to kill you both. And I don't want you to die just yet. Your powers will be my prize for winning this tournament of mine, and the only way I can win is if I finish off Raptor, Terra, and Jin. That should be a piece of cake."

End Notes: Actually, Rando will be brutally proven wrong, as Raptor, Terra, and Jin are determined to avenge the defeats of their friends and teammates. That should make things rather hard for Rando.

If you're wondering what the deal was with Terra's Chains of Gaea, the answer is that Gaea was the mythological goddess of the earth. So Chains of Gaea is fitting, given that Terra's power is control of the earth.

Look out for the final chapter to this saga, coming soon!