Cult of Scath

Two days have passed since Slade returned from Hell to deliver a message. For the last couple of days, the Titans have been preparing for the inevitable return of Slade and doing as much research as possible on their new enemy. Now, Raven hovers in her room with her books floating around her. She grabs one of them and quickly turns the pages. Looking for some way to not follow her destiny.

"Come on. Come on. There has to be something in these books. These books are too old to have nothing in them," said Raven.

"Your destiny is inevitable. You can't stop what has been foreseen," said Slade in Raven's mind.

"I will. I don't care how many times that I have to read through these pages. I will find a way," said Raven.

Raven continues to flip through the books until she hears a knock on her door. She stops hovering and lands on the ground. She then walks over to the door and it opens, revealing Jordan standing outside of it.

"Any ways on how to defeat Trigon?" asked Jordan.

"No. I have found nothing," said Raven.

"You should get some sleep. You look greyer than usual," said Jordan.

"I don't need sleep. I need answers. I have to prevent the world from ending, but I don't know how," said Raven.

"Relax. We're going at a good pace. We still have time to prepare. You'll probably find something about how to beat him. He isn't invincible," said Jordan.

"Maybe he is. Maybe he is unbeatable," said Raven.

"We're the Titans. We don't lose. Especially to giant demons. He won't know what hit him," said Jordan.

Before the two teammates can continue talking, the alarm sounds. Raven and Jordan run towards the living room and quickly enter it. They look at the large screen and see a Slade symbol on the map. Slade has returned once again.

"Slade's back already. It's only been a couple days. Trigon must be speeding up. Raven, get the others. We have no time to waste," said Jordan.

A few miles away from the tower, Slade walks through an abandoned part of the city. As he walks, the old abandoned buildings explode around him.

"I do love my job. Destroying things is always so much fun," said Slade.

Slade prepares to destroy more buildings until he is hit in the hand by a Claw. Slade turns his head and sees the Titans standing a few feet away from him.

"Vandalism, Slade? Has becoming Trigon's goon brought you to such a low level?" asked Jordan.

"Nice for you to drop by, my old friends, but I am doing things right now. I will deal with you all in a few minutes," said Slade.

"No, you deal with us now," said Jordan.

"In this grown-up world, you don't always get what you want, Jordan," said Slade.

"Maybe we won't get what we want, but you will get a first-class ticket back to your master," said Jordan.

"After tonight, you may meet him for yourself!" exclaimed Slade.

Slade slams his hands on the ground and sends a large fire stream towards the Titans. They either jump or fly away to avoid the attack.

"Split up and take him down," said Jordan.

"That worked so well last time," said Beast Boy sarcastically.

"We know his abilities and how strong he is, so we can deal with him effectively," said Jordan.

"That's what they all say," said Beast Boy.

"Just go get him," said Jordan.

The Titans chase after the undead mercenary as he jumps from building to building, using his fire to propel himself through the sky. He continues to jump from building to building until Jordan appears next to him and kicks him in the chest. Slade proceeds to fall out of the sky and lands on the boxes.

"Why would you of all people want the world to end? Don't you want to take over Jump City or are you one of those lunatics who will destroy anything that they can't have?" asked Jordan.

"My goals are beyond your understanding, boy," said Slade.

Slade makes the Mark of Scath with his finger and creates a giant fireball. He lifts the giant fireball over his head and throws it at Jordan. Jordan dodges the fireball, but it lands behind him and explodes, sending him flying a few feet away. Slade tries to hit him with another fireball, but Starfire swoops in and hits him with a Starbolt, knocking him backward. She tries to hit him with a few more Starbolts, but Slade easily dodges them and leaps onto a crane. Using his enhanced strength, he bends the crane and hits Starfire with the wrecking ball. Slade then lands on a roof, but Beast Boy turns into a squirrel and wraps around Slade. Slade tries to get him off, but he hears Cyborg charging up his sonic cannon.

"Bullseye," said Cyborg.

Cyborg launches the shot, but Slade hops off the roof right on time and lands behind him. He then flips over the metal man and Cyborg fires his sonic cannon, but Slade dodges the blast and leaves the metal man stuck under some rubble. Slade then runs towards a large shadow, but it's night. How is a shadow on the ground in the dark? Slade notices this and runs towards it. The shadow turns into a giant black raven and then turns into the real Raven.

"What do you want?" asked Raven.

"He wants them to know everything. I have left a temple in this abandoned part of the city alone. It holds secrets that he wants them to know," said Slade.

"Why would he want them to find out secrets?" asked Raven.

"He loves to give the people in universes a little hope before he takes it away from them. He is benevolent," said Slade.

"What's in it for you?" asked Raven.

"You will find out soon. You have to focus on ending the world after all," said Slade.

Slade walks away and disappears into the flame as Raven watches, kind of perplexed. She continues to look at the flame until her communicator buzzes. She pulls it out and Starfire appears on the screen.

"What is it?" asked Raven.

"Well, Slade left us a giant message. A mark made out of fire and it points to some temple thing," said Starfire.

"So, that's the temple that he left standing," said Raven.

"Raven, what are you talking about?" asked Beast Boy.

"I just had a conversation with him. For some reason, Trigon wants you guys to know a lot of stuff. He takes pleasure out of destroying hope," said Raven.

"Then, we'll meet at the temple. It has to be something in there that he wants us to know about," said Jordan.

"But what?" asked Cyborg.

"Don't know, but we have to see. Maybe it can help us stop the apocalypse," said Jordan.

Three minutes pass. The Titans walk towards the "temple", but it's not a temple. It's an abandoned library that hasn't been touched in years.

"This is a temple? They don't make them like they used to," said Beast Boy.

"There has to be something in this library. Maybe there's something underground or something," said Jordan.

"Let's just go in and get out. This place gives me the creeps," said Raven.

"Raven's right. I don't have a good feeling about this place," said Cyborg.

"Then, let's make this quick. This could just be a giant trap after all. Slade and Trigon aren't trustworthy at all," said Jordan.

The Titans walk up to the old wooden door and Jordan kicks it down. They slowly walk deeper into the old library, but they see nothing, but rows full of books just like any regular library.

"Dudes, even without the creepy librarians, I don't like this place," said Beast Boy.

"It's a dead-end or is it? I'll use my Detective Vision to see if there's anything behind this wall," said Jordan.

"Your Detective Vision won't be needed," said Raven.

"Why?" asked Jordan.

The Mark of Scath appears on Raven's forehead and a door to the Titans' right opens.

"So, the temple must be under us. I knew it," said Jordan.

"You being the Anti-Christ will be very useful," said Beast Boy.

"What did you say!" exclaimed Raven angrily.

"I'm just saying. You are the daughter of Satan after all," said Beast Boy.

"My father isn't Satan, but he may be worse," said Raven.

"Well, I'm not that off," said Beast Boy.

"Let's just get down there. We can't waste time," said Jordan.

"You're right. Cyborg, you should go first. You are the biggest one here," said Beast Boy.

Cyborg walks down first as the other Titans follow him, They walk down the stairs for a few minutes until they reach the bottom. A floor full of weird-looking hooded statues.

"I didn't know your libraries had such creepy statues," said Starfire.

"Our's don't. This part of the building seems old. I mean super old. Probably before the city was even built type of old," said Cyborg.

"Seems like a cult hideout," said Jordan.

"Maybe it's a cult for Trigon," said Starfire.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Satanism and demon worship have always been done in secret. Especially by cults," said Jordan.

Raven reaches the floor and the Mark of Scath appears on her forehead once again and red markings appear on the walls around her. The eyes of the creepy statues start to shine and ghosts come out of them. The ghosts start to chant on loop.

"Well, that's creepy," said Beast Boy.

"So, this is a cult for Trigon. The gem must be Raven and all of this is happening because she is here. What could happen if she stays?" said Jordan.

"Don't worry. I'll go," said Raven.

"Don't you want to find the secrets of your father?" asked Jordan.

"I can find out another day. Me being here may cause more trouble than help. Plus, I have somewhere to go. Someone from my past should be able to help," said Raven.

"Who?" asked Cyborg.

"My mother," said Raven.

"She's still alive?" asked Jordan.

"I don't know, but I'll find out," said Raven.

Raven turns into a raven and phases through the ground, on her way to find her mother, leaving her friends to continue scourging through the cultist's temple.

"Did she just ditch us?" asked Beast Boy.

"No, she has her mission and we have ours. Let's just keep on digging deeper. We have some more flights to go down," said Jordan.

The Titans continue to walk deeper into the temple as they walk down the long, spiraling flight of stairs. They continue to walk until they hear an eerie scream coming from the dark abyss.

"What was that?" asked Beast Boy.

"I don't know, but it didn't seem like the noise made by a nice guy," said Jordan.

The scream was indeed not a noise made by a nice guy. As the Titans look down, a large swarm of spirits rises from the dark abyss and they hold a variety of weapons.

"Well, they don't seem like they will just let us continue to walk peacefully," said Cyborg.

"Let's take them down," said Jordan.

"How do we beat a bunch of hostile ghosts? We're not the Ghostbusters," said Beast Boy.

"We have to try. We have to get down there," said Jordan.

Jordan leaps into the air and tries to kick one of the ghosts, but his foot goes right through it. The spirit responds by slapping Jordan back a few feet.

"I can't touch them," said Jordan.

"But, they can touch us," said Starfire.

"We can't touch them, so let's split," said Jordan.

"Split where?" asked Cyborg.

"Down there," said Jordan.

"You just want us to jump to where the spirits are from? Aren't you supposed to be the genius here?" asked Beast Boy.

"There's no time to complain. Either jump or join them," said Jordan.

"I would rather still be alive next week," said Beast Boy.

"Then, jump!" exclaimed Jordan.

The Titans hop off the stairs and start to freefall into the darkness. They freefall until Jordan sees the Mark of Scath on a panel. He grapples to the panel and pulls it off, revealing another secret passage.

"Guys, I found a passage!" exclaimed Jordan.

"Great. Time to stop falling," said Beast Boy.

Beast Boy transforms into a pigeon while Starfire grabs Cyborg and lifts him to the passage. The Titans quickly enter the passage as the spirits are right on their tails. Jordan throws a couple explosives behind them to create some space. The Titans run for a couple more seconds until they reach a room full of different paths.

"Where do we go?" asked Beast Boy.

"Follow the mark," said Jordan.

Jordan points to a path with the Mark of Scath on it and the Titans run through it. The spirits get close, but Jordan swipes them away with his blades. The rest of the Titans reach another set of pathways, but there is no mark.

"There's no mark. What do we do now?" said Beast Boy.

"Just pick one!" exclaimed Jordan.

"Eeenie, meanie, minie, moe," said Beast Boy.

Beast Boy runs down the "moe" path as the other Titans combat the spirits. This was a mistake because Beast Boy comes running back with spirits on his tail.

"Not moe!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"This way!" exclaimed Jordan.

Jordan runs into a path and the Titans follow, but the spirits don't for some reason. The Titans run through the path and reach a large room with a large stone hand and a light in the middle.

"What is this?" asked Starfire.

"Raven's destiny," said Slade.

Slade walks out of the shadows and the Titans prepare for battle, but Slade sticks out his hand. For some reason, he doesn't want to fight his old adversaries.

"I didn't come here to fight. I just came here to deliver this message. In around three weeks, this world will be the new home for the mighty Trigon. His offspring, your friend Raven, will be brought here and will bring him into this universe via a portal. No matter what you try to do, you will fail and this world. No, this universe will end by the hand of my master," said Slade.

"That won't happen," said Jordan.

"Don't be naive. You all know that the future can not be changed," said Slade.

"Even if it can't, we'll find a way. Trigon won't conquer this universe," said Jordan.

"Prepare all you want. Nothing will change. Nothing at all," said Slade.

"We'll see about that, Slade. Your win percentage is a little low," said Jordan.

"It's going to rise in around a month though," said Slade.

"Not on our watch. Slade, give your master a message. We're coming for him and we will show him what a true demon is," said Jordan.

"Cool message. He may even blink at you," said Slade.

"He won't be blinking for long after we're done with him," said Beast Boy.

"I love the confidence, but that will only get you so far," said Slade.

"Faith is all we need to defeat demonic scum like you two," said Jordan.

"Whatever. Goodbye, Titans. It's always cool to see you guys again," said Slade.

"You'll be seeing us alright when we destroy you. From this day forward, we won't stop training or preparing. Not even for a second. We have a universe to protect and we need all the time in the world to do it," said Jordan