Raven-Star- The Rise of Phoenix

Though loosely based on the Teen Titans comic book and TV series, this is a wholly original parody and fanart work that contains original characters by me as well as those from Teen Titans. As the original comic books and the television series only loosely correlate with each other and are often downright contradictory, this work continues in the same vein. Don't expect things here to exactly fit with the books or the series `cause they won't. DC Comics and Warner Bro's. who own Teen titan's have given no approvals of any sort to this original work.

After the second apocalyptic battle with Trigon which ended in the destruction of Azarath and its people, Raven hoped that she had finally seen the end of that damned Prophecy and had truly destroyed her father Trigon. At least this time she was not the one who had created the portal that Trigon used.

Even though they had known it meant the utter destruction of themselves and Azarath, the Azar knew they had to gather and add all their power to that being thrown against Trigon by Raven and Starfire if he was to be finally stopped. They knew Raven alone could never handle that much power - it would destroy her in an instant - but splitting it between her and Starfire on the other hand - that could work. All it would take is a little tinkering with their beings...

Thankfully Starfire was not only Tamaranian - a physically very powerful race that already unconsciously tapped power of the Multiverse to use for levitation and a few other purely physical things to begin with - but she had also been an Avatar for Ravens' spirit for several Earth-years when Ravens' body had briefly "died" when Green Lantern had to kill her thanks to Trigons' premature attempt to force her to become the portal between his prison realm and Earth.

While she could not use any of Ravens powers while she was an Avatar, she did gain an understanding of them and a deeper understanding of Raven herself. Once Raven's mother Arella and the monks of Azarath had taught Raven to recreate her body and she was able to separate from Starfire, the knowledge Starfire had gained stayed with her. That time combined with her brief experience in really using the purely non-physical aspect of the energy that fills the Multiverse when their actual bodies were switched by the Puppet King made her a perfect conduit for what was needed to be done.

As the battle raged the Azar gathered their strength and made the changes in Raven and Starfire they would need to survive this battle - and more. They focused their minds on Raven and Starfire and searched their entire beings - there. That is where the changes are to be made...

For a brief instant Starfire and Raven froze, floating motionless in the air. Suddenly both were enveloped in a blinding electric-blue ball of light and their bodies convulsed, racked with intense surges of power flowing through them. The ball then imploded in upon them in an even brighter white flash and was gone. Raven and Starfire, blinded for a second blinked and then looked at each other, stunned.

What had just happened? They seemed unharmed and felt: Power! An unfathomable amount of raw Power now filled their entire being. They were astonished to see the very air around them literally crackling with bolts of energy leaking from their auras.

"There. It is done." the Azar weakly said after the changes were made. With one final effort they had transferred all of their Life energy into Raven and Starfire. With their final energies as they gave all they had, the entire race of the Azar formed one last thought before dying: Let us pray that this is enough!

Trigon saw both Raven and Starfire suddenly struck by something that froze them for a few seconds. When whatever it was had faded, seeing their brief incapacitation Trigon had attacked Starfire full-force bellowing as he struck, "DIE GREEN-EYED ONE!"

As she saw Starfire fall smoking after a savage rip of energy from Trigon, Raven cried out to her, "Starfire! Noooo!" She lost all thought of consequences to Azarath and the Earth and unleashed her full uncontrolled fury against him. Trigon was thrown back, roaring and bellowing in agony as one arm was incinerated and then torn from his body taking a large part of his shoulder with it. As Trigon fell to one knee on the ground he roared in pain and anger "HOW? ... HOW DID YOU DO THAT? ... WHERE DID YOU GET SUCH POWER? YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME... AGAIN!!!" Trigon tried to recover and gather his power for another attack but never had the chance as Raven struck again.

Beastboy, Cyborg and Robin, had watched in disbelief as both Raven and Starfire, high above the ground had been struck by something that didn't seem to come from Trigon. Both of them had been enveloped in a blinding ball of electric-blue light that within seconds exploded in a brilliant white flash leaving both glowing with crackling blue auras surrounding them looking confused and disoriented. Suddenly, seeing the two momentarily stunned Trigon had attacked Starfire and then Raven counter-attacked scant seconds later.

Nearly blinded by first the ball of light and then Raven's stunningly powerful attack the Titans watched as she sped to catch Starfire's body falling to the ground still smoking from Trigon's attack. As Raven caught her there was another blindingly intense flash of light surrounding the two. They remembered seeing Raven, her entire body ablaze with power floating alone, with no sign of Starfire to be seen anywhere, begin to spread herself for what had to be a final attack.

Diving towards the ground Raven had streaked towards the still falling Starfire. As she reached out and caught Starfire she was startled as Starfire, somehow still alive and only stunned, with a brilliant burst of light merged into her! An instant later Raven/Starfire realized there was almost a doubling of the already phenomenal power at her disposal and she instantly unleashed it all against her father.

Without a word she spread her arms and legs wide, her cloak flowing behind her as incredible power, far greater than Raven ever thought possible first gathered at and then began to burst forth from all chakra points on her body. "ArrrRHHHYYYEEE!" she screamed feeling as though her body was about to burst from the unimaginable energies flowing into it. Releasing the power with her arms, legs and whole body she focused it into one point and hurled the bolt of immeasurable energy against her father.

As the massive bolt struck Trigon she threw up a shield around herself and the rest of the Titans. The energy continued to pour out from her as she screamed. As the Titans watched, even through the darkness of Ravens shield it was almost blinding to behold. Suddenly it became too intense to watch and the Titans turn away and covered their eyes to not be blinded by the powers being unleashed.

Trigon had briefly resisted the attack initially deflecting a small part of it. The deflected power instantly began incinerating all of Azarath but the power from Raven grew even more as she threw all she could summon in this one final attack. Though really lasting only only a handful of seconds, for what seemed an eternity the power still growing in intensity flowed through her. Straining at the intense effort every fiber of her being was screaming in pain. "Is there no end to it?" Raven thought with clenched teeth, "How can I - we - be doing this!" The power rose ever higher as Raven screamed in agony "ArrrghYEEEEEE!!!"

"THIS... CANNOT... BE! " bellowed Trigon, stunned at what was happening. As the terrible onslaught assailed him, finally he could take no more. His body began to burn and then disintegrate. With one last deafening roar from Trigon as he was ablaze with energy and literally coming apart he bellowed: "THIS ... IS... IMPOSSIBLE! ... NOOOOOOO! " Still Raven continued the attack until the very fabric of space was torn apart. In a final massive concussion of energy space itself distorted, the whirling energies covering the entire spectrum bombarding Raven's shield in a dazzling display of colors. The remains of the dimension of Azarath then collapsed in on itself taking what was left of Trigon with it and with a final rather anti-climatic burst of light, was gone.

When Raven finally stopped, exhausted and almost unconscious, nothing was left but a black ball floating in empty space with herself and the Titans inside of it. The shield seemed to briefly shimmer and the stars reappeared as it and the Titans returned to real-space.

The entry point to Azarath had been close to Earths' moon. Being right in front of them, they now gaped at it in disbelief: Even the tiny amount of energy that leaked through to real-space from Azarath's dimension during Ravens final attack against Trigon had been too much for it. Over a quarter of the moon was gone, simply not there any more. A massive cloud of rubble that hadn't been outright vaporized was spreading slowly up and out into space from the gigantic wound, glowing dull orange from the exposed melted rock remaining.

As the Titans turned to look at Raven they saw a shudder running through her body as another glow, this one a soft pure white, surrounded her. She became indistinct, almost like she was out of focus. As Beastboy, Cyborg, and Robin watched in amazement they saw Raven split into two people as Starfire emerged from Raven.

The two became solid and looking tired but unharmed, Starfire slowly said to them as she recovered somewhat, "We must leave here and return to Earth at once. Raven cannot hold this shield for much longer. If it fails while we are still in space, you will die." Even as she spoke it began to slowly shrink smaller and smaller.

Starfire guided their little sphere of life quickly back to Titans' Tower and landed it on the tower's roof with the Titans now floating a few feet above it suspended in the center of the bubble. After a few seconds of this hanging around, Cyborg asked "Ok. Now what? How do we get outta of here?" As Robin was starting to reply, Raven finally blacked out and the shield was gone. With a collective, "Oof!" from all of them they landed on the roof in a heap.

The titanic release of energy from the joined Raven/Starfire had blasted Azarath to a molten ruin and finally a ball of pure energy that seemed to rip Trigon literally to atoms before he vanished as the dimension of Azarath itself collapsed into itself along with Trigon's prison realm and dissipated into the Void.

Seeing this Raven and Starfire could only believe that Trigon had been utterly destroyed. No one could possibly think otherwise. While Raven knew that he could not 'die' in the way most people thought of, he could be dispersed enough that he should be unable to reshape himself and it looked like his dispersion had been directed into the Void between dimensions - or so she thought.

With all the power of the doomed people of Azarath could gather channeled through Raven and Starfire the two of them and the rest of the Titans had survived. Azarath was gone but the Earth remained. Raven had thought that this realm of Mortals was finally safe and that her part in the Prophecy was really over.

True, they had stopped him from physically entering the area of the galaxy close to Earth but his essence was not blocked from again entering into this realm - it was only deflected and dispersed to the surrounding outer edges of galaxy - not into the Void - where his Fire Minions had sought them out and nourished them. As the pieces of his being became stronger they began seed other worlds and grow. Like some fell and deadly weed they bloomed and flourished. Over time the individual pieces of Trigons' essence found each other and began to coalesce into one.

When she and Starfire had finally repelled Trigon and destroyed the portal between his prison domain and that of mortals Raven could not know that it had been closed too late.

Trigon lived. His physical avatar had been utterly destroyed and his very non-physical being severely drained of Lifeforce and nearly dispersed beyond recovery but still, he lived.

He had once more made it through to the realm of Mortals where he would rebuild his strength and arise once again in his full terrible glory. While for now he was literally the smallest shadow of himself, that would soon change. His fire minions left behind from his previous attempts to enter this realm had not disappointed him. They had prepared the way for him, destroying star systems and storing their energy for him even while he was delayed. They had been cunning, acting only upon systems on the outer rim of the galaxy to avoid detection from Earth so when Trigon was dispersed to the outer rim they were waiting for him, ready to feed and heal him with the energies they had gathered. As Trigon became reborn he savored one thought: "This time no one, not even the Gem, can stop me this time!"

One by one the star systems of the galaxy fell as they were literally consumed by the evil force that was Trigon gathering strength so he could reform his being and continue his conquest and destruction of all life once more. One by one, the entire life-force and physical energies of entire planets was gathered and changed within seconds, culminating in a bolt of blackest evil that leaped from the dead husk to strike the next in line until the entire system was nothing but cold and lifeless cinders. Even the stars themselves were not immune. In each system the final onslaught of doom from the growing dark force drained all energy from the star before warping space itself to leap to the next star system on the menu.

Centuries passed. Slowly, ever so slowly, as Trigon was again reshaped he worked his way back towards Earth with but one overriding and all consuming desire that now made even the destruction of all life in all dimensions incidental: "Revenge!" he often thought, "Everlasting Revenge against the One who was once a part of me. Everlasting Torment for the One who with the help of that green-eyed female had somehow defied Fate and Prophecy to deny him his purpose once again. The everlasting Destruction of the Gem, His Gem, His daughter. His flesh and blood projection of himself into this domain of mortals - Raven. She had defied him and delayed him three times but she had NOT stopped him! For this insolence she shall suffer throughout Time!"

His plan of the destruction of all life in the galaxy was now under way as foretold in the Prophecy. He knew that the Prophecy never specifically mentioned how or when he would accomplish the destruction of everything. He only knew that it must happen and Raven would play a key part in it. Trigon thought to himself, "The Gem's part is done. Complex her role may have been, in the end it was she who had brought him through from that prison realm. Instead of one passage it had taken three, but the Gem had fulfilled her purpose when she had become The Portal which allowed him a true foothold into this realm."

Against all his original plans he knew he had to first rebuild his power so for now that pesky area of Earth and his revenge upon Raven would wait. "Fine," he said, "Let them enjoy their insignificant life for now - it will soon be over for them! MY enjoyment of their torment shall be MOST satisfying."

This time the passage from his prison realm into this one had begun far easier - up to the point where the Azar had brought the Gem and her allies to battle him. His Fire Minions that had been left behind from his second attempt to cross had served him well. The Azar were caught totally unaware as they had been watching the route from Trigon's prison to Earth and had no warning that a route had been created to Azarath instead.

This time he had been at full strength when he had come through into Azarath using a different portal, this one created by his Fire Minions and the demon-priests of the Shriva. Once more, both had served him well. Perhaps, for their loyalty he would allow them to be the last to die for him.

Trigon had thought that being already closely linked to Earth, after destroying the Azar the final passage through to the realm of Mortals would be nothing, an insignificant effort. It wasn't.

He gained great satisfaction in the fact that not only had Azarath and all but one of the Azar - Raven - had been destroyed, but even more in that it had been Raven herself with her final attack that did it. The only thing that tempered his pleasure at this twist was the fact that he too had almost been destroyed by her. Almost.

But, he had not been destroyed. Once he had consumed all there was in the rest of this galaxy and was fed by its energy he would be even more powerful than he ever had been before. Then with the power of the entire galaxy's Lifeforce within him he would finish this and deal with her.

He now understood all too well that his first attempt to cross from his prison domain had been doomed to failure because he had tried to circumvent the Prophecy by forcibly taking over Raven body. He had been able to force through only his evil control over her and none of his true essence or Power so it had only been a matter of time before a Protector of this realm defeated her. To him, the absoluteness of the Prophecy had been reinforced when only Raven's body and not her spirit had been destroyed.

After that debacle he took care to let the Prophecy fulfill itself to the letter.

Trigon still puzzled over just how Raven had defeated him the second time and restored the Earth to how it had been before his arrival - her powers came from him! The Power she had unleashed against him had been only slightly less than his, but it was enough, he had been sent back. He had to assume that somehow his second defeat was a part of the Prophecy. After all, he had been able to loose his Fire Minions into this realm where they re-awakened the Shriva and they had in-turn treacherously prepared the way into Azarath for this last crossing. While the Prophecy was absolutely clear about certain key events and its final outcome, it did not spell out what other events would unfold leading up to Trigon's destruction of this realm.

When Raven had been transformed into The Portal all of the dark powers he had placed within her were consumed when it opened. While she had survived the ordeal, all of her powers should have been gone! Maybe some small trace could have remained but what she had used against him was even greater and more to the point, different from what he had given her... Her strength as Raven the White was almost equal to his own before he was diminished by coming through her portal! Where had that Power come from?

Still, he had not been at full strength yet when she and those pesky friends of her's had attacked and he had been thrown back to his prison realm until he again recovered his strength to come back again.

But this last defeat... The power she had thrown against him had been far greater than his own and he was at full-strength! He could not even comprehend any being except another First One even being able to gather much less control such Power and while his Gem may be his child she was definitely not a First One . "HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE?" he often thought as the centuries passed.

Trigon knew that Raven had received all the power of the Azar - that ball of blue light that had briefly stopped them in mid-attack had come from them - but much of it had to have been permanently drained by her all-out final onslaught that had destroyed his physical form and spread what was left of him across the far reaches of this galaxy.

Just how she had been able to withstand, much less control and focus that much power he did not yet understand. He knew the green-eyed one had something to do with it because that final blast had come from both of them merged into one. No matter. This time he was ready for her, already far far more powerful than he had ever been in his entire existence.

He had chosen well where to begin his attack on the realm of Mortals - this galaxy was a rich feeding ground soon to be fully consumed. When finished here, he would finally have the power needed to leave this galaxy and move onto the next, and then the next and the next. In time this entire Universe with its billions upon billions of other galaxies would he his banquet!

Without the Azar's power for Raven to draw on again and the Life-force of an entire galaxy within him he was almost disappointed at how swift her fall would come.

What he did not know was that the removal of his powers from Raven had left a great emptiness that became filled by the energies of this dimension - and many more. She was not as Trigon thought, just a tool for him to use or 'just' a super-being with incredible but still definable Powers and strengths. Unbeknown to Trigon or herself, Raven was a focal point of all the various forces and energies, good, evil, and indifferent, that filled the Multiverse. Given the knowledge of how to use it and the reason to, there was almost no limit to the power at her disposal or what she was capable of.

Of all the Titans only Starfire knew from when they first met that like herself, Raven was what most people called almost immortal. Something about the eyes - there is a depth to them that comes only from seeing life for far longer than the rest of the inhabitants of the known realms... Well maybe immortal wasn't exactly the right word but to those like Starfire and Raven a century mattered no more than did a day to their far more mortal friends and acquaintances.

Friends and acquaintances. That is the one problem with what most of the galaxy would consider a very very VERY long life. When you left your own people and traveled to other worlds you always outlived those around you. The heartbreak of watching those you knew and sometimes loved grow old and die while you seemed eternally unchanging eventually drove most long lived beings to a fleeting "tour" amongst the various worlds that populated the galaxy, never staying long enough for anyone to realize what you are.

Some would seek extreme solitude and cold detachment from the close company of other beings who were so ephemeral. Long periods of deeply introverted "detachment" lasting centuries was not uncommon, some called it deep total meditation, others might say insanity, but it did help pass the time... When the lifetime of civilizations and sometimes even entire races paled to yours boredom could become a very serious issue.

Aside from one's own race it was far too rare to come across another with whom you could share the wonders of the Multiverse and all it had to offer. Even if one did, even rarer that you would be as closely matched in life-experience age as were she and Starfire. Raven thought for a bit; including the Tamaranians, how many other immortal, near immortal or even just what most would call extremely long-lived races had the Azar ever found throughout the known dimensions inhabited by intelligent beings - 12? 13, if you included Trigon although he was the only one of his kind still in the Multiverse - he had made sure of that far back in the beginnings of Time itself.

The other Titans had found out about the Tamaranian life-cycle when Starfire had been summoned to Tamaran by Blackfire for her second arraigned "marriage". They were more than dumbfounded to find out that by their reckoning Starfire was almost 479 Earth-years old and barring being killed by massive accident or very determined and powerful intention could easily live for at least twenty thousand more!

When Starfire first met the Titans she said was 17 when Robin asked her about her age and they assumed 17 Earth years. Why not? She looks it. After that, the matter never came up again. Starfire had meant 17 Tamaranian years and since one Tamaranian solar-cycle is a little over 28 Earth years... One thing that Star had not told them about was her earlier life on Tamaran and why she had never visited there while being with the Titans - that was none of their concern and was something she would settle herself in the future.

As the years on Earth progressed try as they did (Bless their spirits!) it became harder and harder for the Titans to really accept being around Starfire and Raven. Their friends could see their own mortality looming closer and closer while she and Star remained changeless. When Cyborg, the last of the original Titans passed on at what was for Humans a "ripe old age" of 112, Starfire and Raven vowed together to never again stay so close to any other mortals again. "Ripe old age" huh, - it may be that to many of the Multiverse's' life forms but was not even equal to a decade to Stars' and even far less in Ravens' lifespans.

Maybe sometime in the future they might change their minds but for now, with Azarath gone and what happened to Starfire and her "situation" on Tamaran, there would only be the 2 of them to share Life and Love. While Raven may still far outlive Starfire, for now this was good. As for the vast difference in lifespan that lay between Raven and Starfire - that would be for the future to decide. If needed there were spells Raven could use to quite easily slow Starfires' already glacial aging to match hers but both of them already suspected that it would not be necessary.

Along with all of their power and knowledge the two of them felt that the Azar also gave Starfire a gift for her to share with Raven: A gift of an even more vastly extended life so she could always be with Raven to help keep her sane.

On top of that was an unsettling sense of something else that they had yet to put their finger on. A feeling that together they also had a Purpose, a reason for being with each other as the Right People, in the Right Place, at the Right Time. For what - they had no idea.

As Raven got up to find some breakfast and herb tea she cupped one of Starfires' warm, firm breasts in her hand, planted a quick kiss on her forehead and was struck by a sense of foreboding. She jerked back - something was wrong. Something about her coming Birthday.

Just then Starfires lovely emerald green eyes fluttered open. "Mmm. Good morning my love" she said. "Is it not another lovely day?" Raven recovered and said, "Yes my sweet, it is. I'm just going to find some breakfast. See you in a little bit?" With that she gave Star another quick kiss and headed to the kitchen.

As she rummaged through the "Blue Furries in the refrigerator" as Starfire had named them she began to think. Since the destruction of Azarath and her father Trigon, Raven had hardly given the subject of her birthdays a second thought. The ones that had followed his destruction were uneventful. In Azar time this would be her 10^th birthday: Being all there was in its pocket dimension Azarath had no star and the sky was perpetually softly lit by the light of the Multiverse. Even though it was truly timeless in the celestial sense the Azar did measure time and assign it cycles. Their equivalent to a "year" being exactly 100 years on Earth.

When had Slade returned as Trigons' servant just before her 5^th birthday to deliver his masters message and begin The Prophecy the Titans didn't know know her "age" in their Earth's reckoning. Even afterwards, the topic just never came up. They just assumed that since she looks it, she was about their age. How could they know that she had looked like this since she was A0.2 and normally would have stayed pretty much the same until she was at least A1,000: over 100,000 years in Earth terms. Her first premature "death" caused by Trigon had changed that and now as an Avatar her appearance was strictly up to how she wanted to appear.

Beyond that the beings of Azarath typically stayed around until at least A2,000 before they felt ready to leave this mortal plane and move though the Metrion-Zinthos to the next. Even then, they "age quite gracefully" as they would say here on Earth. Azarella herself, the first of their race had been the oldest of them ever and had lived to A5,000 before she Moved On, even then would have easily passed for around "35-ish" on Earth.

Hell, her favorite mentor in Azarath had been A3,000 and often told her he was certainly not about leave yet. He still had far too much to see and do.

Damn! He and her people would still be here if it hadn't been for that cursed cult bringing a part of Trigon through to this realm where he raped her mother Arella, leading to her birth and that damned Prophecy... Another cold wave swept over her as she thought about that.

No, she told herself. That can't be right. He's gone! Blasted into non-existence into the Abyss between the dimensions!

Chapter-2

A little while later Starfire came down and joined Raven for breakfast. She had found the fixings for one of her and Stars' favorites, waffles or "The small round checkerboards with little blue non-furry berries in sticky sweet syrup" as Star called them. Raven had gotten better at cooking over the centuries - these were actually pretty good. Again she thought back to when Trigon first come into this realm through The Portal - her.

She knew that it had been coming. On the day it began she had tried her best to make her friends happy, to let them enjoy their last day, and thought making breakfast for them would be a good start. She had made pancakes and they didn't exactly come out quite right. Ok, she thought. They were were a disaster. To Robin, BB, and Cyborg they were inedible. Only Star with her - well, odd - sense of taste ate them. Hell, she thoroughly enjoyed them.

How had Star put it as she devoured them? Ah yes; "What a glorious feast! Like incinerated Glortachk roaches from my home world! Crispy outside and runny on the inside. Delicious!" On went the mustard and down they went by the pound. Starfire could be a bit frightening when she started tearing into a meal...

Starfire noticed that Raven seem troubled. "For why do you seem - distant?" she said. Is it about your coming birthday next year? There is no reason for the gloomies. You know that the Prophecy is finished. Trigon has not been seen or heard from anywhere since we last battled him."

Raven sighed. "I know that. I felt his prison domain collapse into the Void along with his body and all of Azarath. We saw him die - well, such as he can. But I sense, well... something. Something - bad. Something very bad. You know we haven't checked more than the first few hundred light-years around Earth. What if..." Then she fell silent and ate a few more bites. She didn't even want to think about the possibility of Trigon actually still surviving in this realm. She knew what that would mean.

Starfire seemed pensive as she ate and then suddenly brightened. "I know! Why do we not leave this planet and travel the galaxy for awhile? What few evil villains that remain on this planet are easily handled by this worlds native Heroes. For so long most of the evil doers have been so, how do they say - lame? - that we have not been needed for many centuries.

You know this world has not been, um, comfortable with us since witnessing their own near-destruction by your father and the energies we unleashed against him. They feel that we are far too - dangerous. Perhaps it is time for us to leave this place. Let us travel together and see the wonders of this galaxy and beyond. Let us travel though the Multiverses' furthest reaches to prove your father is gone and its peoples are safe. I think we have been on Earth for far too long. There is nothing new for us here."

Starfire was right! Leave it to her to crystallize and state what had been troubling Raven for the past few centuries here. It was time to go. They probably should have left just after Cyborg died. Since his passing she and Star had never "connected" with any of this planets other Heroes - of course then again neither she or Starfire had really tried - and neither had any of Earth's Heroes.

Raven knew that witnessing what was actually only the tiniest aftermath of the battle with Trigon that leaked through to this dimension had badly scared the Earth people. Sure, a large chunk of the moon was gone and they had yet to fully rebuild the communication networks that had kept these people mindlessly entertained until debris from the moon had smashed nearly every single satellite but that was only a lingering reminder of what had happened.

More than that, seeing the entire sky ablaze with the powers unleashed by Raven/Starfire and Trigon should scare the crap out of them. But no one from Earth had died and aside from Robin, BB, and Cyborg, no one from Earth was even scratched. For days after the battle as Raven lay in deepest meditation healing herself Starfire had made sure that no pieces of the moon large enough to do any real damage hit the Earth by vaporizing or deflecting them with her now tremendously augmented starbolts.

But did the people of Earth ever thank them or the Titans for saving their short-lived skins?

No. Feeling and acting as one for the first time in their history, as an entire race the Humans threw an infantile tantrum about 'Dangerous Aliens'. How ironic that the first thing this entire planet had ever agreed upon was also the stupidest they could have picked.

Raven and Starfire could easily sweep the remaining moon rubble from earth-space but with how the Humans had become, these people would just use that as another example of the 'threat all aliens posed' and probably try to force them to leave as they already had all others.

Since the Humans had no memory of the first battle with Trigon - the planet and all on it had been obliterated by him - neither Raven or Starfire expected the Humans to be grateful for saving their hides that time. After all, until Raven-the-White forced Trigon to flee back to his prison realm and restored the Earth to as it was before he came here, except for the Titans whom she had protected all life on the entire planet had been killed within seconds.

When she restored the planet and its people she placed them at the instant before they were destroyed with no memory of their destruction. This second battle however had been witnessed by the entire planet. They had only to look in the night sky to be reminded of it - Earth now had a thin ring around it and a broken moon loomed in the sky.

More than ever their minds and eyes became closed against What Could Be. All they did was build 'defenses' against 'The Outside and Outsiders"'as the Earth people now called anything and anyone not from Earth.

Yeah right. Like anything or anyone native to this planet could stop a warship from any race capable of crossing the stars much less beings like Raven or Starfire had they cared to have their way with this lovely little blue planet.

In the first few decades after the battle the people of Earth had shot at and even damaged several small alien craft visiting the planet but luckily to the other races of this galaxy that only reinforced the overall belief that this world was so backward that they should just be left alone until they learned better.

Hmm. Even after word had gotten out that aliens were not welcome on Earth, ships had still entered Earthspace at least once a year either by accident or intent but soon left when it became clear that they were not welcome. Now that Raven thought about it, it had been centuries since any alien ships had been spotted. Odd.

Starfire was also right about being 'dangerous'. Even after the unleashing the immense energies needed to defeat Trigon, both Raven and Starfires' abilities still remained pushed to heights neither had thought could ever be possible. Well, maybe she had thought about it, but not Star...

Both of them constantly had to be careful to use only the slightest fraction of their powers when fighting villains for fear of causing massive damage to the surrounding areas - this was the major reason the rest of the planets 'Super Heroes' shunned them.

For Raven it was even harder because her powers are driven directly by her emotions and if she got carried away when fighting evildoers the consequences could be – had been – disastrous.

Even so, battle wasn't so much the problem - making love with Starfire was. She always had to keep tight control of herself to prevent another catastrophe like happened on Mars. Raven grinned a little as she remembered it; She had often told Star how she wished that just once she could really let-go when making love with her and one time Starfire had suggested popping over to Mars to 'eat out'.

It was uninhabited, far enough away, and Star had often said it reminded her of a 'giant red beach without water'. At the time it sounded good so off they went.

They had been having a grand time with each other until Raven let an orgasm really get the better of her. She had been experimenting with just how far she could let go of her emotions and after several climaxes each more powerful that the last she finally went too far. Talk about The Big Bang!

Mars was nearly torn asunder with a very large piece of it gone. Starfire survived unhurt only because she was enveloped within Ravens Avatar during the release. Oops.

At least the Earth people had no idea about that little demonstration. They thought that a rouge asteroid had collided with Mars. Frankly, with her powers now fully awakened and the nearly unlimited power given to her by her entire race as they perished, what she was capable of terrified her.

Then she smiled and said to Starfire, "Hmm, while we're in space maybe we can find a nice colorful romantic nebulae with no planets in it and try really letting go again... With no other life around for light years we could REALLY have some fun!" Starfire beamed at that suggestion.

Raven knew that at least some of the Earthers were truly good people with open minds and eager to learn but taken as a whole - they were little more than self-centered mean-spirited children with the attention span of a nymph. Even after the planet was nearly destroyed they still to this day wage war amongst themselves! Truly dangerous villains when they arise and are caught just went to prison for a bit and are then released to carry on where they left off. Idiots! They just-don't-get-it.

At one time both she and Starfire thought this world had promise, that they might yet realize there is so much more to life than what can be seen around you by your eyes and touched by your hands. Unfortunately, those with rigidly closed minds were gaining control and the dreamers were losing. Of all the idiotic things for the planets rulers to stay focused on it was their distrust of 'The Outside'.

How depressing. These people may yet reach their full potential, but at this rate it would not be for many many more millennia into the future.

"Starfire my Love, you're right." Raven said. "There's nothing for us here anymore. Let's just get away from this place." Suddenly, she grinned. "Isn't there a little, ah, 'issue' that you need to take care of on Tamaran? I think that with your increased power you just might give them a little surprise..."

For the first time, Starfire giggled about the idea of returning to her home world. "A most excellent idea Raven!" she exclaimed. "My parents Myand'r and Luand'r along with my sister Blackfire and the others who helped them shall pay dearly for what they did to me."

She felt growing anger as she continued, "You know that as King and Queen of the Northern Tribes my parents "married" me off to gain favor with the Southern Tribes."

Starfire was on a roll now, " a marriage it was NOT!" she spat out. "I was simply given to Karras for political alliance and to settle the splitting of profits from a disputed farming valley. They knew full well that the Southern Tribe rules only by conquest. For my parents to give me to Karras and his followers could be seen by them only as an admission of conquest by the Southern Tribe.

By their traditions, all major conquests by the Southern Tribe are to be confirmed by the rape of the losing tribes princess by their leader Karras and his closest warriors. It was only because they were passed out, drunk and spent after the ceremony that I was able to escape them and flee Tamaran. Oh that I had the strength to slay them then and there, but after their 'ceremony' I was still heavily drugged and could not."

A cold green fury glowed in her eyes as she proclaimed "Karras of the Southern Tribe with their Altar of Conquest - rape me again they shall NOT! I am NOT a war prize - my parents did not even try to lead our people to fight them. Blackfire connived with them to convince others that it would be easier to give me to Karras than fight some 'useless battle over an insignificant issue' as she had put it."

With a voice of cold rage Starfire finished, "So. An 'insignificant issue' means more than to them than their daughter. I think NOT! When I am through with them there will not even be a stain on the rocks where they stood. Until now my only consolation had been that Blackfire later killed our parents to keep Karras from attacking her - and our people - after my escape. Blackfire, Karras and those who remain allied with you, I promise you now Tamaran shall be freed from your evil grasp!"

Chapter-3

Finally fully reformed, Trigon gloated. That last system who's energy he had just absorbed completed him! "Soon, soon the time shall be right for me to strike the final blow against my Gem. She shall be shattered as was I. Shattered to countless fragments yet kept alive to watch and know of my work but powerless to stop me as I destroy all other life in this realm. This galaxy is but the first to fall. With the power I gather from it I will be ready to spread myself across the entire Universe and draw it all onto me!

This system I just absorbed was home to green-eyed ones like the female who aided my Gem. Their power was far greater than I would have thought possible for mere purely physical beings - they actually were able to resist my first attack. But still - they have fallen and added their strength to my own. The great power I've drawn from them has made me whole again!

But... something also seems - familiar - to its nature. I still do not know how that female of those people aided Raven - her races powers were less that of even a child from Azarath and they knew only of its physical application for flight and surprising strength. Of them all only 1 - another female, this one with red eyes - could use energy bolts such as I saw come from the green-eyed one and those from the red-eyed one were feeble in comparison. No matter. At least my score with my daughter's green-eyed allies is done.

First, to finish with these few hundred star systems left and then all that remains is Sol with that sickening little blue and white world full of life that my Gem thought so special. Well, she shall watch it be slowly consumed by me, this time one life at a time and when I am through it's cold dead husk shall be reduced to dust. After that, she shall be contained and brought with me to watch helpless as I destroy ALL life in this realm of mortals!"

With that thought Trigon allowed himself a few deep booming laughs and was off to finish his destruction.

Chapter-4

After spending far more time than it should have taken, Raven and Starfire had finally converted what this planet called their "money" into some provisions along with more permanent and near universally tangible trade items to take care of paying for lodging - metals and gemstones. While they physically did not really need to eat and drink or for that matter even breathe, they did enjoy it.

It may be handy to gain sustenance directly from the energy of the Multiverse, but as even the most backward mortal races know there is more to eating and drinking than just the intake of food and fluids to live. It is something that can be savored, a delight to the senses and spirit.

Some of the conversions brought strange glances from traders but hey, if someone wants to buy 2,000 pounds of frozen pizza and 500 gallons of wine - along with 2 tons of scrap iron, over half a ton of blue sapphires and other precious stones - all at far above premium prices - they weren't going to argue.

Even them being infamous Outsiders - Aliens - hadn't really been a problem. It delayed things a bit but once the traders stopped their protesting about their 'risk in helping them with these suspicious purchases' and asked for an additional 'commission to help grease the wheels' all the problems mysteriously went away.

Raven and Starfire had expected that. Risk - right. The risk of getting more money is more like it. This just reinforced Starfire and Ravens' opinion about just how morally screwed up this world had become.

Back at the tower as Raven and Starfire gathered what they wished to bring with them it struck both almost at the same time just how funny the idea of 'packing' was. Here they were preparing to leave this planet and its memories behind and what were they doing? Purposely bringing items with them that brought back memories.

It was the giant stuffed chicken that Beast Boy had won for Raven at a carnival that did it. As she levitated it to her trunk she started giggling. Of course the trunk was actually a pocket dimension that could hold a whole planet if they wanted. It already held all their supplies for the trip and the trunk itself would then go into one of the stones (another pocket dimension) on the belt Raven wore -.

Starfire heard her giggle and looked up to see Raven almost rolling on the floor trying her best to contain herself. Seeing a giant chicken floating in the air toward an impossibly small trunk and Raven actually now actually laughing was too much for her. Starfire also started giggling and soon both were laughing and started telling each other stories reliving some of the more special memories attached to each item as they were placed into Ravens' trunk.

"Ah, Beast Boy" Starfire said. "Was he not at times 'hung as a horse' as they say here? And when he did 'The Face!' -- I can still almost feel his little kitten tongue licking my grebnosh" she said as she slid her hand under her skirt and gave it a few little flicks with her fingers while remembering.

"Mmmm. Tempting. But, not helping" Raven said as she watched Starfire. As she gently removed Starfires hand from between her legs and gave Stars' fingers a few licks she said "we really need to get this done."

More than a few items also brought more sobering and painful memories such as Robins' Birdarang. Robin could be quite inventive when it came to "toys..." Solemnly they remembered how he had fought and went out literally in a blaze of glory as Brother Blood annihilated him with a massive energy blast that ended up not only killing Robin but also set off the energy core to Brother Blood's fourth (and last, as he also died) school.

What with the stories and all, by the time almost all was picked through and packed they were both a bit tired and definitely more than a little horny. They decided to call it a night and retire to their bedroom and start up again from where they had left off when Starfire started had thinking about BB earlier. Afterwards as they lay together in the comfort of each others arms , their bodies intertwined, they drifted off to sleep and dreamed...

Chapter-5

Raven tossed fitfully in her sleep. Darkness. Everywhere Raven looked she saw nothing. No stars burning brightly, no planets filled with life, reflecting the light from their surfaces - nothing. She moved to where there should be a people they had visited before and found a cold cloud of gas and rubble where their star should be. She dropped down to a nearby planet and found it a cold dead cinder. Even its core was cold as space itself. Another and another and another star system she searched and always it was the same.

Then it hit her and she cried out - Starfire! Where was she? She could not feel their mental bond anymore! How - when - had they become separated? Raven stretched out her mind to its limits. There. I've found her! But why is she so faint? Raven's black bird Avatar swept through the galaxy and came upon Starfires' burnt and broken body floating nearly lifeless in an utterly empty region that used to be a nebulae that spanned light-years across. Raven enveloped Starfire into her bird Avatar to try to heal her and fled with her inside of her. She didn't know where she was going with Starfire, just - away from there. In the distant background Raven heard laughter. Deep booming laughter. The all too familiar deep booming laughter of her father Trigon when he has been quite amused by someone's' or some thing's' suffering.

"NO!" Raven screamed as she snapped awake.

“A dream. It was just a dream, that's all. Trigon is DEAD!” she mentally screamed. Raven looked over to Starfire was also apparently not having the best of dreams either when she too bolted upright with a scream, and now wide awake.

Starfire had been Home again. "Home". The word meant only anger and humiliation to her. She had come for revenge against her sister Blackfire, Karras the leader of the Southern Tribe, and all who had helped them in the selling and raping of her to settle a "minor squabble". She wanted to make her world peaceful again - well, at least stop the major factions from real war and go back to the Games to settle their disputes.

Well she was back and her planet was peaceful. The peace of the grave. Nowhere was the lovely warm tan and purple plains and mountains, only a cold black and blasted wasteland. The very mountains looked as though they had melted into planet. Everywhere she searched it was the same - no life to be seen. Not only no life, but no bodies either. What had happened here? For now, all thoughts of revenge were gone as it looked to her that someone or something had made pretty sure it no longer mattered. Starfire traveled to where her parents castle should be and found only broken stumps remaining of the soaring towers that used to be so beautiful.

In the remains of what used to be the main tower Starfire found a crack leading to its lower levels. She went inside to see if she might at least find a clue to what happened to her people, maybe in the deeper vaults something survived what ever happened here. As Starfire worked her way down she thought about her people.

Overall, her race was a good people. Raven had once told her that as far as she knew that was a prerequisite for any long-lived race. Too many bad traits leads to short lives and extinction. They were powerful, proud, fierce, and drank deeply of life, yes. But not randomly warlike. They used to have a strict code of what should be expected of you. Violate the codes and disputes would be settled in the Games one-on-one. If you won that was it. If you lost, well death was not unusual. There were no state-sponsored "wars" as there are on so many other worlds - especially Earth. For the larger disputes on Tamaran depending on the seriousness of the issue each side chose a small team of 5 to 10 warriors and together they did battle against the other sides team, last side standing wins the dispute, case closed.

Unfortunately as in all civilizations from time to time rulers crop up that have more concerns about building and using their political power than they do about what is best for their subjects. Starfires' parents were such rulers. They paid the price for their arrogant greed when their other daughter Blackfire assassinated them at Karras's bidding after Starfire had escaped from him at the Altar of Conquest.

Her sister had always said that Starfire did not deserve to Rule because she didn't understand about Power. Power to control not only one's own destiny but also that of others. She constantly berated Starfire what Blackfire called her weak and idealistic views of leadership.

“You and your 'they are good people who just need to be guided properly' and 'we as rulers are responsible for the people'. HAH! What a weak chlorbag you are! The masses don't know how or want to take care of what needs to be done. They must be ordered to do it whether or not they like it!” Blackfire often shouted at her.

Well, from the looks of things so far the power her sister craved hadn't help her one bit.

Starfire found the main records vault fairly intact but with no energy to power the viewers they were useless. The vault had survived only because it was on the lowest level of the castle. As she was leaving it she noticed a statue of two people embracing in a far corner. Statue? Why would there be one down here? Starfire went over to see it and as she got closer she stopped. The statue was of Blackfire and Karras! She looked closer -- no, the two figures were not a statue, they were Blackfire and Karras! Or at least, had been. Now they were transformed into a crumbly grey rock like decomposed granite, a frozen tableau of pain.

??? Just what had happened here? The only thing that Starfire knew that could do this was an life-draining blast from Trigon but, that couldn't be right!

Amid her puzzlement of just what had happened to her mortal enemies, seeing them renewed her blood anger. Blackfire and Karras may be dead but their bodies are still here. I may not have the revenge I deserve but I can do THIS!

With that she let loose a rain of starbolts that obliterated the turned-to-statue bodies of her evil sister and rapist cohort to dust. Unfortunately her rain of destruction was too much for the remains of the tower and it began to collapse upon her. As its roof fell and struck her she screamed.

"YEEEK!"

Starfire awoke sitting upright and trembling. She saw Raven was also awake and looking concerned at her. Raven! I have had a most bad of the bad-dreams! Your father... I... I think he is alive!

Chapter-6

Looking even more troubled Raven said, "I know, I also dreamed of him - and more." She did not say that "more" included finding Starfire floating in space just this side of death. "Remember when we fought and defeated my father when he transformed me into the Portal that brought him through? Just before I sent him back to his prison realm he had torn open a portal in the sky and sent some of his fire minions through it. They were what he used to return this last time. Like some kind of infection they must have influenced some other race into creating the second portal. Maybe they are still here."

"Until now I had forgotten about that" Starfire said. "But I am puzzled. After we again defeated Trigon we searched throughout the nearest stars and found no trace of those fire beings. If they were still here would they not be close to where Trigon again tried to enter this realm?"

Raven thought about it - "maybe they were nearby. Remember when we checked planet P3856? At one time it was full of life with a rather violent race on it but when we checked it after fighting Trigon we found the planet a molten ruin. I think that maybe those fire demons somehow fused with the inhabitants and used the energies they gained to open that second portal.

We wanted to leave this planet and now more than ever we need to search the galaxy for any traces of my father and his followers. Get your clothes on Star, we've got to move." As soon as she had put on her jeweled belt Raven activated one of the gemstones on it - another pocket dimension like her trunk -- and with a small quick blue flash from the jewel the trunk they packed the night before went into it.

"Everything we need is packed and all that remains is for us to destroy Titans' Tower - there are far too many dangerous things here to risk anyone on this planet getting in here and taking them."

Starfire looked dismayed. "Raven, I know that we are never returning here again but must we destroy our home? Can you not just raise a barrier to prevent anyone from entering it?"

"I could but there is no way to be sure that in the future a way to penetrate it isn't found." Raven could see that Starfire was heartbroken at the thought of their home for the past few centuries being destroyed and she too would sorely miss it.

She thought for a second. "You know what? We've already prepared so many things to take with us, why not just take the tower too? My transport jewel can easily carry it for us. Somewhere else we might find another place to call Home for a time and it would be nice to have a ready made place to live... I'm just glad we packed most of what we might need separately. I wouldn't want to have to unpack the entire Tower each time we wanted some pizza!"

Starfire was overjoyed: "Oh yes! Yes! That would be so very nice!"

With that settled Raven said, "Are you ready?" Raven and Starfire assumed the lotus position and joined hands. Raven's eyes glowed white as she began the chants: "First to take care of the tower. Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A protective black sphere formed around both her and Starfire. That done she continued, "Ararath Lentus Temporis MIKROS! Causa Converto Rasearth Defendo."

To those outside who saw it, crackling bolts of energy began to surround Titans' Tower as it began to shimmer and fade out. The bolts of blue energy grew larger and then joined together into a solid sheet that completely enveloped it. Suddenly, an blinding bright eldritch blue light burst forth and the tower vanished leaving only a hole in the ground where it stood and a small black sphere floating in the air. An immense thunder clap rolled across the city startling all who heard it as the air rushed in to fill the void left where Titans' Tower once stood. Windows in the city near to where the tower used to be in the bay shattered from the concussion.

To Starfire and Raven, all they saw was the tower becoming transparent. From the transport jewel on Ravens' belt burst forth a brilliant blue light and the tower vanished from around them leaving only the two of them floating in the air where their bedroom and Home once was. There was a slight buffeting and they heard a distant rumble from the air rushing to fill area where the tower had been but that was all that made it through Ravens' shield.

With a nod of her head Raven dispersed the shield that had surrounded them. She giggled and gave Starfire a wide grin which surprised Starfire until she looked into Ravens mind to see what she was up to. Starfire gave a grin and giggle back when she saw what else Raven had done.

"That's done (giggle). Where to first?" Raven asked. Starfire replied "I think we should still first try my home world Tamaran. I hope beyond hope that my dream was not true and must find out. How shall we be traveling there, in your bird Avatar?

Raven composed herself and said, "No. My raven Avatar is good for undefined traveling and looking around but I think direct transport to Tamaran using a portal will be better." Raven began a second chant in a low and slow voice " Azarath Metrion Zinnnnthos." Now Starfires' eyes also grew wide and glowed - hers brilliant green- as she was joined with Raven to pass through the trans-space portal. A glowing pentagram appeared beneath them. Shimmering lights of all colors flowed through the designs and began to dance in entrancing rhythms, pulsing brighter and brighter.

Again she spoke, now in her normal pitch, louder and firmly; "Tracos Rexar Portus. Heldritch Sekos, Transio! Transio! MORTIE!" A dark rift rimmed with blazing red fire appeared above them. Actinic tongues of blue-white light from the pentacle surrounded them and began stretching towards the rift. "Transeic, Transeic, MORADDA!"

In a final burst of light Raven and Starfire flowed through the rift and began their journey through non-space to Tamaran. With that, the last of the First and True Teen Titans left the Earth, never to return again.

Chapter-7

Eventually, the current 'protectors' of the city along with its true legal authorities and the press arrived to where Titans Tower had once stood. Shocked at the sight of the rocky little island now minus the Tower that had been there for over 500 years they were baffled as to just what it meant. Since the two Aliens living in it pretty much stayed to themselves they had been tolerated by the city's' authorities and citizens. Most had thought, "If they still want to stay on Earth even though we really prefer they went away, well, as long as they don't cause any more trouble, fine. And, after all if the legends are true at one time they were part of the best team of Protectors the city had ever known, even being Aliens and all..."

Giving in to Human nature people soon wandered to the edge of the huge hole in the center of the island and looked down into it.

The first impression most people had was," Yep. Sure is a BIG hole. Must be at least 300 feet deep! Hmm, seems to be some sort of pile of rocks or something left down in the middle on the bottom..."

Their reaction soon turned to puzzlement and then outrage as they finally made out just what the object on the bottom of the hole was. Even more astonishing, just then the object was covered in a black sheen that rapidly spread out from it to cover the surface of the entire island beneath their very feet. The ground began to tremble and the bottom of the hole along with the object on it began to rise up! When the earth had stopped shaking a full thirty seconds later, the hole was gone and the tiny island where Titans' Tower had stood had a new glistening black landmark for all the city to see.

The Press loved it. As they went on the air with it live and zoomed-in to fill the vid screens with pictures of it rising, they thought to themselves,"This is GREAT! Just think of the headlines: "Titans' Tower vanishes leaving huge hole! Dangerous ungrateful Aliens show their true colors! Buildings damaged and scores of people injured! Huge hole disappears and insulting statue rises! Defiant statue makes authorities wonder just what was in ancient tower! Angry citizens demand investigation as to why dangerous Aliens were allowed to remain on Earth! Details at eleven." They were overjoyed, "Yessiree, we and the mindless masses going to have something to talk about for months!"

As a parting gesture reflecting just how both she and Starfire now felt about the people of Earth, Raven had left them a little gift when she "packed up" Titans' Tower to take with them: She thought a simple statue would do the trick. A statue of an up-thrust arm and hand. On the hand all fingers but one were curled over into a fist with it's middle finger defiantly raised straight up to the sky. One hundred feet tall from ground to finger tip Raven thought it perfectly expressed their feelings about how the attitudes of Earths people had changed. For the proper effect, she had used a special spell triggered by the presence of a good sized crowd of people on the island to dramatically raise their parting gift for all to see. The trigger spell also released a shield spell to protect their "gift" from being knocked down. Barring them using a nuclear device to destroy it, the city should have their new monument for at least several hundred years before the shield dissipated.

Chapter-8

Raven was half way through the transit spell when all other thoughts cleared from Starfires' mind and she saw Tamaran as it had been when she was last there. This was followed by the odd sensation much like being slurped through a straw as they entered the portal.

Hand in hand Starfire and Raven traveled into the non-space between Earth and Tamaran. This time as they had entered the portal they saw that something was wrong - very wrong. All the other times they had traveled like this the way was glorious. The first few seconds had been normal and then - this. The Void should have been ablaze with multi-colored streaks, clouds, curtains of light and other radiation's leaking in from the galaxy as it flew by and yet all they saw were occasional faint glimmers set in an ominous gray background sometimes punctuated by completely black streaks every now and then. As they approached Tamaran their terminus should have been a brilliant purple disk of light and was instead a dark red spot reminiscent of old blood.

Starfire was the first to speak, "Raven, what has happened? Why is the way so - gloomy? This is not at all like any of the journeys we have made together through the galaxy before."

"I know" Raven said. "Be ready for anything when we come out of the portal. I have a bad feeling about this..."

As they appeared on Tamaran they were on the defense with Raven projecting her black shield around them and Starfire fully lit up for battle as they immediately flew up several hundred feet and then stopped to look around. Deep vacuum, utter darkness and a cold as cold as space itself greeted them. Raven knew they were really on Tamaran but they could see nothing. "We need some light" she said as she created a dazzling ball of brilliant white light and fired it into the sky. It illuminated a sizable area and they looked around aghast at what was below them. Utter devastation surrounded them and from what they saw they knew only one being could or would do this.

Trigon was alive and had been here.

What Trigon had tried to do on Earth he had succeeded with here. As far as they could see Starfires' home was a cold dead ruin. Once mighty soaring towers made of adamantium had been reduced to broken and melted stumps. The mountains that had once partly surrounded Starfires' family castle were gone - literally melted into vast plains of now cold hard lava covered with a thin snowy layer of frozen out atmosphere that stretched as far as they could see. The planet itself was now cold as space and even its rotation had been stopped. As well as all life energy on the planet, all other energy - thermal, kinetic, and what have you - had been sucked from it too when Trigon had departed.

Starfire cried: "Raven, this is not as I had dreamed - it is far far worse. My people! Did you even know what was happening? Were you at least able to fight for a time?" With that she broke down and wept, her tears instantly freezing and falling to the ground to silently shatter on the rocks below. They both knew that there was no point in searching the planet for anyone or any records. Trigons' attacks would have melted the surface of the planet to a depth of many miles before he finished it off by drawing all energies from the planet into himself leaving it this lifeless husk before them.

They both rose out into space above the planet and found even Tamarans' star was a dead cinder drained of all energy. Raven spread her mind across the entire system and saw the same everywhere. An entire star system - dead! As she focused her attention back to Starfire and herself, sounding rather alarmed Starfire said, "Raven, what is wrong with the stars? There are many - missing... Over there should be the constellation of Norok the Eater but her "plate" is half gone! And there - Roshro the Drinker is missing his head!"

Raven asked her, "Starfire, do you know just how far from here those missing stars are - were?" She thought for a moment, "Most were quite close, the farthest was the distance light travels in 3 Tamaranian-years" Starfire replied.

A chill not from the lack of warmth around them swept though Raven. "My father has been busy" she grimly said. "We need to check throughout the galaxy to see what he has done and where he has been. Then maybe we can find him before he reaches Earth."

"Raven, and when we find Trigon - what then?" Starfire quietly asked, fearful of what the answer must be. "We fight him. We destroy him once and for all or be destroyed ourselves. Together we are the only ones who stand a chance of doing it" Raven replied. "What he is doing here in this galaxy is only the beginning. Now that he is free he will absorb all life and energy from this galaxy and then move on to the others. Galaxy after galaxy will be drained until this entire realm is his. After that, with so much power at his disposal the entire Multiverse may be at risk. We MUST stop him!

Chapter-9

Initially they began the search for Trigon by using portals to travel to the furthest reaches of the galaxy that Raven been to before while being instructed by her mentors on Azarath. While they journeyed through the Void Starfire's mind wandered as she reflected on just how handy portal travel was; any other way of travel - even using Ravens' bird Avatar - was far slower when it came to going from point-A to point-B.

After Raven took her through one for the first time, she asked Raven to explain it to her. Raven told her that on Earth they called a transit portal a 'wormhole'. Apparently Humans considered space to be curved much like a round fruit with 'space' being the outside or skin of the fruit. A portal such as this was much like the hole a worm would make when eating through the fruit from one side to the other - a shortcut to the other side. An overly simple idea at best but close enough given their limited understanding of the Multiverse.

Raven had said that it was too bad they never yet thought about what the 'inside' just might be and how to get to it. It would rid them of the silly notion that the 'speed of light' was an unbreakable speed limit or barrier. Yes it was a speed limit - IF you stayed as a solid entity with mass OR if you stayed within any given Universe. If you transform to something without mass - like her bird Avatar - or leave your Universe for a bit as some races did by warping local space with technology to bend the rules, then all bets are off. Then again, few races ever figured it out, which was actually for the best. Having the populations of millions of races popping in and out at will everywhere in the galaxy much less the Multiverse would be Chaos.

The way Raven had described it was that there is no inside to the apple. What lay in the way between 'here and there' was the entire Multiverse itself. Unseen, undetectable, but still very much there are the thousands of dimensions or 'Parallel Universes' as some called them that make up the 13 realms of the Multiverse. Some big, some small, some almost identical to others - eerily down to the very beings populating it - and some very very different.

Instead of a solid fruit with a skin and something in the middle it was more like a plate of spaghetti with each Universe being just one strand all tangled up with the others. Physically moving in space in what seemed to be a straight line only moved you up and down the strand with all its twists and turns unknown to the traveler because they never leave the strand and are aware of nothing else.

Transit portals did not create a connection between two points - they are both points at the same time. What's more transit portals could not be created at random: the traveler had to know the other end. 'Know' as in having been there before either physically or mentally. That need for previous presence was one of the keys to portal travel. One did not 'travel' in any real sense as much as they just left one location and were then in the other. There is an in-between transit area the Azar called the Void - and there isn't. Opening a portal into the Void without a destination was opening a door to suicide. If you entered it without a place to leave you very shortly simply ceased to exist.

Raven said she had once read in an Earth book the phrase 'Travel without motion'. That pretty much summed up portal travel. At least some rare Humans grasped the idea even though they were clueless about the method. Yes the physical senses told one that time was passing and you were moving past things but it was false impression. Time did not exist in the Void and in the Void all points and places in the Multiverse not only meet, they are one in the same - that is why one had to know the location you were headed. Not 'know' as in where it is located but know as in what the location is - one's mental impressions of it along with memories of how it feels, smells, looks, even what it sounds and tastes like.

When coupled with the ability to form a portal that opened the way from real-space, ones previous visits left a record in the mind that formed a sort of address or beacon that simply automagically placed you there. Without those memories of a place there was no leaving the Void, no exits to a random location - and no going back to where you started. You would stay there until you ceased to exist and given its nature, for most beings that would happen very very fast.

Being what is - and isn't - between the dimensions meant that physical matter could not exist there, only energy. Matter that did leak through from real-space was instantly converted to energy which eventually found its way back into the Multiverse. The Voids' nature and the bizarre radiation's flowing through it from the Multiverse around them would instantly kill unprotected life forms. For different reasons, both Starfire and Raven were near indestructible and could easily live in the vacuum of space but more than that was needed here. When in the Void with Starfire, Raven projected a glowing blue shield around the two of them that was a piece of real-space which protected Starfire from the effects of the Void.

Starfire of course knew that Raven was not exactly a physical being but instead was a focused projection of her self-image made solid. Her actual body had been vaporized by one called the Green Lantern whose power had been augmented by the Azar after Trigons first and premature attempt to break free of his prison realm when Trigon's mind had entered her and taken over her body before the time called out in the Prophecy. Since Raven was no longer made of physical matter, the hostilities of the Void had no effect on her.

Just before Green Lantern's destroying Trigon/Raven the Azar had extracted Ravens' actual being – her 'spirit' as some would call it -- from her body and transferred it into Starfire for safekeeping until she could be trained to exist without an actual physical body. It had taken several Earth years of meditations during which her mother Arella instructed Raven-Starfire before she had learned how exist as a non-physical entity and project herself into and when desired through the physical world.

Now her outward form was up to her and she could shape-shift at will. No physical barrier could stop her as she could simply project herself through any matter as easily as one walking or flying through the air. For special needs she would transform into the shape of the Avatar for which she was named - a non-corporeal jet black raven of any size desired. Once she had mastered all this she separated from Starfire, re-entered the physical world and took on her original form.

It was during this period that Raven and Starfire developed their permanent mental bond - literally living inside of each others mind tended do that... When needed, telepathic communication was second nature to them as when they desired to, each literally knew what the other thought and felt. When they were once again separate entities it was only natural they became lovers.

With a smile, Starfire's mind drifted back to the portals -- at first she had a problem with the bit about time. She had told Raven "But when we travel I know that we are in the Void for several minutes! We Tamaranians have an excellent internal sense of time and have been called 'walking clocks' by some. As we travel I see many things go by that take time before they again vanish."

Raven had an easy proof: She had Starfire bring a timepiece with them as they used a portal to travel to a world that circled a star 17 light-years away. The star was one that the Humans called Altair and was home to a race called the Ancients until they were destroyed over 8,000 years ago by an evil race called the Shriva. They looked at the clock in wall of towers' vid room as they left and it read 11:00. Instead of just going straight to Altair Raven somehow made it possible for them to tarry in the Void and "enjoy the show" as she had put it.

By Starfires reckoning and the clock with them they stayed in the Void being dazzled by the beauty of the Multiverse that surrounded them for over an hour before exiting on Altair whereupon Raven immediately made another portal for their return to Earth. They again dallied for over an "hour" before exiting. When they had reappeared back in the tower it was 11:01. The only time that had passed on Earth was the time it took for Raven to create the two portals but by Starfires' internal clock and the one she brought with them over 2 hours had passed!

Time had passed for them but not for the Multiverse around them. Raven had said that was because they had "stepped out" from real-space into non-space and non-time. The shield bubble that she used to protect Starfire when in the Void was also a bubble of their own personal "local-time" detached from real-space time but continuing at the same rate. This seriously puzzled Starfire for days until she finally gave up and just accepted that that is Just-How-It-Worked. She finally understood Ravens' fondness for saying "For some things there is no 'Why', it just is. Trying to find the answer to a question that should not exist is pointless."

Well, however portals worked, they were the ultimate in rapid galactic travel. One of the first worlds Raven took them to after Tamaran was that of the Nox, one of the few races that were equal to the Azar in development and abilities - in some ways they were even slightly more advanced.

Their home world had been far on the opposite edge of the galaxy and if Raven was right would have been one of the first to be destroyed. Unique in this Universe, their home world was alive and a part of what was the Nox - this was their major distinction from the Azar. Being a part of the people its inhabitants named the planet same as they called themselves - Nox - which loosely translated into 'Of Life'. What all its inhabitants felt, the planet felt. What the planet felt its inhabitants felt. The planet itself and its inhabitants were of one mind - their only other distinction from the Azar. Raven knew that if the planet itself still physically existed, the memories of what had happened to it and its people should also exist with it.

Chapter-10

Ready for battle, Raven and Starfire emerged from the portal. Nothing. The planet Nox was still there but cold and drained of almost all energy and life. Almost. Still barely alive were its memories. When they arrived Raven immediately sensed overwhelming grief. She fell to her knees and placed her palms upon the ground. Her eyes glowing she raised her head and began to quietly chant in a language Starfire had never before heard her use.

Raven then bowed her head as tears formed and with a quiet "I am so sorry, so very very sorry," Raven's link to the planet's memories was established. She directed her thoughts to Starfire so she could see, know and feel what she did. At first a flood of senses and thoughts overwhelmed her but soon started to form coherent memories:

Nox had been a wonder of creation. It and it's inhabitants had been of one mind since the earliest days of its creation. Never had violence taken a life here as all was One. Animal, vegetable, or mineral made no difference, an act of violence was an attack upon oneself because what one felt, all felt. The food chain was peaceful and well ordered with all that was 'food' giving of itself at the end of its natural life in an endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. When the planet needed to re-arrange itself with tectonic activity animal life knew to get out of the way and the planet would wait until they did. Even weather was moderated with no large storms over land. From the lowest mineral in the soil to the most advanced biologics of Nox all had a Purpose for being.

It's most advanced beings - the Nox - could hardly be called the "dominant" lifeform. As advanced in technology and metaphysics as they were, they had never viewed the planet or its lower life in terms of it 'being there just for their use and damn the consequences' as most races had. Floating in the skies above untouched forests and plains their cities were like heavenly jewels. In short it was a paradise.

Now as Raven and Starfire had seen, it was all gone. The surface had been blasted to a flat plain of frozen lava and Nox was almost dead. All that was left of the destroyed jewel-like cities were the tips of a few spires poking out from the solidified lava. Starfire gasped as the planet replayed memories of its last days of full life. The record gave Raven and her their first taste of just how truly evil and malevolent Trigon could be.

Unlike he had done on Earth during his first full release or in his attack on Tamaran and the two other systems they had checked before coming here, this planet and its star system did not die quickly. Quite the contrary, Trigon had played here for a time before finally drawing the life out of it.

Trigon had learned of the Nox One Mind and could not resist torturing Nox by ever so slowly killing its lifeforms a few at a time. He had reveled in the planets agony as he methodically tore apart the surface, melting the areas underneath the floating cities one at a time then turning his attention to the cities themselves and their inhabitants. The first few cities he simply plunged into the melted rock along with their people. But that was too quick.

"THIS IS FAR TOO EASY. THIS PLANETS AGONY PLEASES ME BUT ENDS TOO QUICKLY" Trigon had said. He then began slowly tear the cities to bits, slowly lowering the pieces and people towards the lava until they burst into flames. "MUCH MORE SATISFYING" the planet had heard Trigon say, gloating. Once the cities and people were gone he made relatively short work of the rest of the planet. Even so, the torture of Nox had lasted almost one entire Earth month.

Still, the planet Nox still survived in a sense. Somehow, it just knew that its knowledge had to survive and be passed on so it had ingrained the entire knowledge of the Nox into its very geologic structure even as Trigon reveled in its destruction. Now two were here who could take that knowledge and preserve it.

With almost the last of its energies the planet spoke directly to them, "Raven, please do not weep for us any longer. What is, is what is. This end to Nox has been known to us since the dawn of our creation and could not be changed. As you have your Prophecy, we had ours. The part you played in bringing this about simply had to be. We are sorry that you were the One to begin it by freeing Trigon, but somebody had to be it and the Fates picked you.

Know this - you and your companion are the Keys to stopping him from destroying the Universe! This Galaxy is finished, but others can still be saved. Travel this galaxy to see what you must see and learn what you must learn - it will be needed when the time comes to act and will be all you have to assure you that IT MUST BE DONE!"

Starfire blinked at Raven and gasped, "This galaxy is ended? There is no hope at all of saving it?" Raven said nothing in reply, she just bowed her head as dark possibilities came to her mind.

"Nox, what is it that we must do?" Starfire asked. "That cannot be known yet. We have our suspicions but that is all they are. It is something that you must discover and decide to do yourselves. Know that there is one world that will remain untouched by the Dark One. There you will find ultimate despair and yet also -- hope. There your answer lies."

Raven raised her head and asked "Where is this world to be found? If you know what we must do why don't you tell us!"

"Raven, Starfire, the path to your answer is deep within both of your minds. It was given to you by the Azar. When the time is right, after the Two are briefly One the location will be known to you. As to why, again, we cannot now tell you - it could change what must come. You have not seen enough and would reject what must be done. Rejecting the inevitable would be the end of all hope for this Universe! We are almost at our end and have but one request, please do not let the knowledge of Nox end here. As did the Azar, we wish to transfer our knowledge to you two so in one sense we will then still live. Will you accept us?"

As one Starfire and Raven humbly spoke, "Yes. Yes, we will accept your legacy." The ground began to tremble as Nox spoke "Then please rise above the surface and prepare yourselves!"

The ground began to tremble and roll violently as Raven and Starfire both rose into the sky several meters and opened their minds to what would come. The planet surface beneath them cracked open and an immense chasm that looked like it reached to the core of the planet widened beneath them. From the yawning abyss a blinding sheet of light bust forth engulfing the two of them.

Their minds rang with a chorus of sounds, voices, images and memories. Every now and then snippets would standout from the overwhelming mass of knowledge - the decades slow thoughts of a rock one second, the fleeting thoughts of a tiny insect the next, then numbingly beautiful songs of the Nox, all in harmony with each other. Within a minute the light faded away and it was over. Starfire and Raven's minds still hummed with what Nox had given them and though most was rapidly fading from conscious thought much did remain.

"We are done. Thank you for preserving what we once were. If fate grants it and the Universe survives this, you may one day find a place for us. Thank you."

The ground stopped shaking. Raven stretched out her mind throughout the planet but now felt nothing. Nox was dead.

She turned to Starfire, "Well, Nox said we had to continue our search and only Time would reveal what we need to know. Time to go Starfire. There are many many worlds we can reach by Portal and the rest can be done in my Avatar. Time to see what we must see."

As Raven created the Portal, recalling from her newly acquired memories just how beautiful Nox was Starfire quietly said, "Goodbye Nox. I will treasure these memories of you always. Goodbye."

Chapter-11

They had already checked out over 3,000 worlds in less than an Earth week stopping on each only long enough to see that it was cold and dead. The last time they took a rest was days ago and that was only for a few hours. Again and again they found the same thing: Lifeless planets and cold dead stars.

The most disturbing thing they found was that even the monster of a super-massive black hole in the center of the galaxy, at one time the most awe inspiring and powerful object in it, was gone, absorbed in its entirety!

After they had covered all of the worlds accessible by Ravens' portals they began trying those that could only be reached using Ravens' Avatar. While much slower, this gave them the chance to observe other stars along the way to their destinations. After visiting a few hundred more systems they finally gave up on actually landing on the planets and just began heading in the direction of the stars themselves. Without exception it was all the same: As they got closer to a star it would suddenly disappear as they reached the point where its light traveling through space simply stopped. They had learned what this meant - Trigon or his fire minions had already been there and the system was dead. It was pointless to continue on to that system.

After searching over twenty-thousand stars they could tell that the outer rim of the galaxy had been the first attacked. From what they gathered the destruction began about 500 years ago -- just after they thought they had destroyed Trigon.

Starting in small pockets spread around the edge of the galaxy it had spread like an infection into an almost a complete circle of total destruction that ran around the rim - almost all happening at once. From there Trigon rapidly moved throughout the rest of the stars. From what they had seen not even the smallest brown dwarf stars had been spared destruction. Anything with any kind of energy in it had been sucked cold. They had not yet found one single star system intact.

They finally took another well deserved rest on a world called Thallia which was once home to a powerful race of winged humanoids. As with every other system they had checked this one was long dead. Raven was exhausted from using her powers so much and the local energy fields of the Multiverse were not as nourishing to her as they should have been.

Normally she could have continued this limited use of her powers indefinitely by simply drawing sustenance from the Multiverse as needed but because of the massive local drain to it Trigon had caused wherever he had been she had been running on reserves stored within her while energy only trickled back to her far slower than she was using it. Starfire had helped by sharing what she could of her life energy but there was a limit to how much Raven dared to draw from her. Their reserves were starting to get low and needed time to be replenished. As Raven and Starfire rested they gloomily discussed what they had found so far and decided that it was time for a change in tactics.

Now it was all too obvious that instead of being destroyed Trigon had been only dispersed around the outside of the galaxy and that from there the bits of Trigons' essence had began collecting power and coming together as he started to reshape himself. As he gathered himself back together and rebuilt his strength he swept through the star systems at an ever increasing rate but seemed to be working in a pattern that initially avoided coming closer than 500 light-years to Earth, going around that area like water flowing past a boulder in a stream..

Raven and Starfire were sure that Trigon had been doing this so they would be less likely to know that he was here in this realm until he was ready to again battle them. His strategy had worked.

After his last defeat Raven and Starfire had only visited the worlds closer to Earth thinking that if he had survived he would have tried to find a place close to his enemies to begin rebuilding his power. He could not have had the strength to go so far - and in fact, didn't. It was the power of Raven/Starfires' final attack that had dispersed him so far.

Once they realized what he was up to they knew that he had to be near Earth by now. Believing that his Gem and her companion were still there as two of Earths' protectors, he was probably saving Earth for last so he would be at his highest power before taking on Raven and Starfire again.

Alarmed, they realized that Tamaran had been one of the most recently destroyed and it was only 350 light-years away from Earth. Only about 12,000 stars were in an area around Earth smaller than that and at the speed Trigon was attacking and moving on they must be almost all gone by now.

Damn! That meant going back to Earthspace and using it as a central base to search the stars nearest to it until they found Trigon - unless he was already there. Going back to Earth itself was probably out of the question because the 'gift' they had left behind was sure to have really ticked off its inhabitants just as it was supposed to. After that it was highly doubtful that the Humans would allow them back on the planet and it was quite likely that they would try to kill them on sight. Of course no Human technology could now harm them but it would still be annoying and distract them from the all too real need to gather all the power within them that they could before facing Trigon.

Dealing with the Humans ire would be messy and complicated if they wanted to avoid killing too many of them so they had figure out where to stay while in Earthspace. The moon wouldn't work because the humans had several mining settlements there along with observatories and communication facilities so they decided it would be best to camp out on Mars for the time being and wait for Trigon there. It might be a little battered and missing a good-sized piece but it was still a perfectly serviceable planet for their needs. Far better than anything else they'd found in the nearly dead galaxy... Earth had no bases on Mars or observation satellites circling it anymore since the - um - incident Raven and Starfire caused there so they could prepare for this Final Battle undisturbed.