Starfire hovered rather quietly in the center of her strange metal prison. As she sat in the meditative lotus position, she murmured a soft chant. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she murmured over and over. The meditating calmed her slightly, and she was grateful that Raven had imparted the knowledge to her. However, the thought of Raven broke whatever tranquility she had acquired and Starfire let herself fall back to the ground again. The young alien could not shake Chaos' question from her mind. "Do I love Raven?" Starfire asked herself aloud. "Certainly I love my friend. What kind of friend would I be if I did not love my friend?" She heaved a sigh. "But Chaos did not mean the love for a friend. Do I love Raven as I would if she were my truest love?" She could not answer her own question. Starfire looked up to the small silver sky above her, tears suddenly welling in her bright green eyes. She wished desperately that somebody could just appear and help her decipher this blasted problem. Raven was the foremost choice to help her in this issue. She did not coddle the yet-innocent young woman like Robin did, nor did she lack the maturity that Cyborg and Beast Boy earnestly needed. As Starfire sifted through the reasons why she wanted Raven there to help, she struck upon one fact that made her pause. She wanted Raven there to help her and reassure her because under all the bravado and denial Raven put out, she was a pure hearted person. She would help Starfire no matter what the circumstances, and not because she was a dutiful hero. Raven cared deeply for Starfire, even if Starfire had not seen it before. It was then that Starfire began to wonder why exactly Raven had been the forefront of her thoughts. Robin was the one who was a master of deduction and finding ways out of traps. She wondered why she wasn't exactly hoping and praying for Robin to appear, but for Raven to help her. She closed her eyes to further her thinking and was suddenly graced with a vision of herself kissing Raven. Her eyes snapped open in shock. Starfire swallowed around a sudden lump in her throat, a blush burning her cheeks. She was not disgusted by the idea of kissing her comrade. In fact, she actually found it-pleasing? Starfire blushed a deeper shade of red when she realized that she rather enjoyed the idea of kissing Raven. "Oh my," Starfire murmured, putting her long fingers to her lips. She put all of her thoughts to Raven and examined every little thing about the sorceress. After a time, Starfire smiled her adorable smile. She had found an answer to Chaos' question. ---------- Raven suddenly stirred. She brought her eyes back into focus and saw Chaos standing on the water below, staring up at her. Raven's eyes flashed white as she pushed herself off of the roof, flying at Chaos with speed she never knew she had. "Are you here to kill me too?" Raven snarled. Chaos stared at her for a long moment before grinning. "I see your powers are finally unlocked," she chuckled. "Sixteen years and one traumatic death was all it took." Chaos easily drew her sword in time to deflect the angry strike Raven lashed out with. Raven's eyes were the gleaming white that signaled the summoning of her power, but she was doing something more than simple telekinesis. The shadows had formed around her hands into what looked like a sword, and she stood in a stance similar to Chaos'. "Good, Raven," Chaos laughed aloud. "I guess my teachings really did make a difference. Now I'll finally have a real battle. I hope you're a good opponent." She closed her eyes and raised her sword before her, her grin fading into an expression of concentration. Black fire gathered around her sword and her body until it erupted into a column of flame that reached far into the sky. When the inferno calmed, Raven found herself staring at the rightful form of Hell's heir. Chaos' form was still humanoid, but obviously demonic. Her eyes, narrow, glowing red diamonds, numbered six. Her ears were pointed and folded back, and matched her terrible fangs. Her hands and feet were clawed, and a prehensile, dagger-ended tail twitched around her legs. Wings with night black feathers completed the image of the daughter of Lucifer Morningstar. Raven swallowed back the fear that suddenly rose in her heart. Starfire's face flashed before her eyes and the fear turned to rage. Back in the Tower, Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy ran to the nearest window when a sudden tremor shook the entire building. A massive pillar of water exploded upwards from the bay as a shockwave created massive waves. The three met on the roof, staring out to see what they could. Cyborg's optic sensors zoomed in to where the water was falling back into the bay. "Whoa," he murmured softly at what he saw. Robin produced high-powered binoculars and looked out through them. As he fended off Beast Boy, he watched as the battle began to unfold. Raven and Chaos swung their swords at each other with every ounce of strength they had. They hovered over the water, ignoring the shockwaves that resulted from the sheer force of their strikes. Chaos grinned madly, her laughter ringing out with the sound of magic against metal. Raven harnessed the power that came from her rising anger, increasing the force of her blows and the speed at which she moved. Chaos matched her strike for strike, almost a bit indolently. She dodged an overhead swing and grabbed Raven's ankle with her tail. With a mere twist, she flung the young woman through the sky towards the water. Raven splashed into the water, sending another massive wave towards another shore. "You must be faster, Raven!" Chaos shouted. "Show me the power that is supposed to rival mine or I'll send you to meet your dear Starfire!" The water below her suddenly erupted upward and threatened to blind her with spray. Chaos gestured and the water parted at her command. Raven was revealed, her sword aimed for a killing strike. Chaos smirked and dodged, Raven rising up a few more yards before diving back at the demon. Chaos would have been a bit surprised if she didn't already know how the battle was going to end. Raven, spurred on even more by the mention of Starfire, began to attack with staggering alacrity. Chaos, more experienced in duels to the death, still dodged Raven's attacks, but was serious in her efforts. In fact, she continued to smirk even as Raven landed slash after slash on her body. Raven cried out in rage as she struck a heavy blow. Chaos was thrown back through the air, crashing down and carving a path in a barren, rocky shore. She stood up, however, black blood streaming from her wounds. Though she could heal the wounds herself, Chaos did no such thing. Instead, she sheathed her sword and cast her arms out. "End this battle, Raven!" she ordered. "End it all!" Raven frowned and rushed through the air. Chaos, on the ground, grinned slightly and twitched her hands. ---------- "I hope you can hear me, Starfire." Starfire looked up and about, utterly baffled as to where Chaos' voice was coming from. "I'm assuming you've got your answer. I'm going to free you in a moment. Raven will be rushing to kill me, and then the prophecy will be done. When the sphere breaks, I will be in front of you, just off a way from your tower on a rock-covered shore. Raven will be there as well." Starfire stood up and stared at the silver prison's walls. Spider-web cracks suddenly appeared in the metal, and the young woman tensed to move. When the orb of metal finally broke, Starfire was flying straight forwards at top speed. She could see Raven standing on the rock-covered shore, a black figure lying at her feet. "RAVEN!" she screamed. ---------- Raven slammed into Chaos. Her sword stabbed through the demon's middle and Chaos smiled slightly. As she stumbled backwards and fell to her back, Raven let the black magic dissipate. "One last thing," Chaos rasped, staring blankly at the sky. "One thing to make sure my presence only helped you." "RAVEN!" The sorceress turned at the scream of her name and was suddenly tackled. Raven sat up with some difficulty, looking to see who exactly would throw their arms around her in a tight hug. She paused, obviously wondering if she was seeing a spirit. "Are you injured?" Starfire asked anxiously, her hands turning and twisting Raven about as she looked for injuries on the shorter young woman. Raven, for once, did not automatically break free of the peculiar examination. She was rather confused as to what was happening. "You are well!" Starfire suddenly exclaimed with a massive smile. "Wonderful!" She hugged Raven close in happiness. Raven blinked, her mind still trying to sort through the events. "Raven!" a familiar voice shouted. Starfire stood up, lifting Raven to her feet and refusing to let the other girl go. Robin and Cyborg leapt off of a green whale and rushed over to where the battle had ceased. Beast Boy turned back to his normal humanoid form and hurried over as well. The boys froze when they saw Starfire. "Star?" Robin murmured in shock. "But...we thought you were dead." Starfire shook her head, still not letting Raven leave her grasp. "I am well," she said. "You do not need to worry." Raven turned to stare at the faintly twitching Chaos. "You didn't hurt her at all," Raven said quietly. Chaos smirked, black demon blood sliding from her wounds and her mouth. "My will would have been death for this entire city," she mumbled. "But my fate was to unlock your power. But now that I'm about to die, I'm free from that fate. Thanks." Her smirk faded and her eyes closed. The Teen Titans were silent for a time. Chaos had gone into the battle meaning to die. Thunder suddenly rumbled across the darkening sky. "I don't think the news said there would be rain," Cyborg said as he looked up at the black clouds. White lightning and red lightning flashed across the clouds. The bursts of electricity struck closer and closer to where the Titans stood and eventually crashed down almost next to them. Once the light had faded, the Titans were greeted with a sight unlike any they had seen before. Two men had appeared from the lightning, and it was plainly obvious that they were not human. The man that appeared from the red lightning bore a striking resemblance to Chaos. In truth, the only difference between the man and Chaos was the fact that the man was covered with scars. The second man was angelic. His white wings caped around his immaculate white clothing and his soft gold hair fluttered before his blue eyes. Each man went to a separate person. The angel strode to Raven, and the demon crouched down by Chaos' body. "Well done, Raven," the demon said. "You've killed my daughter." Raven, still amazed by Starfire's appearance, paled at the man's words. "Lucifer," she whispered in the silence. "I...don't know what to say." The demon, Lucifer Morningstar himself, only chuckled a bit. "You have done her a favor," he chuckled. "The way to escape destiny is to die. Not only did you allow her to fulfill her fate, you let her escape it as well." "But she's dead," Raven protested. Lucifer wagged his finger at the girl, smirking. He took a feather from his wing and laid it on his daughter's forehead. A moment later, the black blood on the ground began to recede into Chaos' wounds. Her skin healed into scars, and she began to look even more like her father. Her eyes opened and she sat up. "Was I dead?" she questioned. Lucifer nodded in response and pulled Chaos to her feet. The heir to Hell shook her head to clear her mind after her sudden death and looked about. Her eyes fell upon the angel standing near Raven. "Gabriel," she said curtly. "First you make sure my first life is controlled by that damned prophecy. Now what do you want?" Gabriel smiled at her and turned to Raven. "I'm here to consecrate her," he gestured to the young woman. "Her power is finally unlocked, and Heaven has decreed that I place a release limiter on that power." He took a feather from his wing and brushed it over the gem on Raven's forehead. Her eyes closed as the holy magic took effect. Her clothes suddenly faded from black to white, a sign of her new strength. "There," Gabriel murmured. "Use your powers well, Raven." His body faded into white light and vanished. Chaos suddenly tapped Raven on the shoulder. Raven turned, still trapped in Starfire's arms, to look at the demon. Chaos smirked and flicked Raven in the nose. The sorceress jerked at the action, blinking more out of shock than pain. "Don't make me check on you," Chaos chuckled. "I do owe you for what happened, but you know my patience is less than excellent. Don't lose what you have." Lucifer vanished in a red light and Chaos flew off to the horizon and disappeared. "What did she mean?" Starfire asked, turning Raven about to face the shorter girl. "What do you have that you could lose?" Raven stared at Starfire for the longest time, just watching her bright green eyes. She smiled at the alien girl and rose up into the air. "Someone important," Raven said. She moved forward and kissed Starfire gently. When she moved away, Starfire was smiling. In fact, Starfire was beaming as she threw her arms around Raven once again. "Oh, this is wonderful!" the red-haired girl giggled. "Now I know my feeling is the correct one!" When she didn't let Raven go, the team deciphered what Starfire meant. The boys turned to leave, but Robin lingered for a moment. He waited until Raven put her arms around Starfire and returned the embrace. Robin smiled, turned, and walked away. -to be concluded-
Back to Break Shadow Index - Back to Non-Anime Fanfiction Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction