Far beneath the floating city of Azarath, in a dimension separate from our own, a war rages on. One faction consists of the Anima Comedenti, a race of mostly benevolent beings who seek to protect their world and who are led by Death himself, along with his wife and his first son, Reaper. The other is made up of demonic creatures grouped together under one name; the Vehements. These former minions of the recently deceased demon lord Trigon are led by Reaver, the second son of Death. He has defected from the Comedenti, betraying even his own family to gain power, taking advantage of the Vehement's recent loss of leadership to reform an army of evil. The Comedenti have been overrun by surprise attacks on their capital city, and their military forces are currently taking refuge in the Black Citadel, the home of the Royal Family. This is where the story begins.

PROLOGUE

Reaper awoke to the sound of ringing in his ears, followed by the muffled noise of gunfire in the distance. As the soldier regained his senses, he realized that the gunshots were not as distant as he first thought, and his still blurred vision revealed that there were bipedal shapes moving about the room, quick flashes of light emanating from their weapons. He blinked a few times to try and clear his sight, to some avail, allowing him to see that one of the shapes was rushing towards him. "Do not tou-,"he mumbled, but was cut off by someone's shouts.

"Sir! Sir! Reaper, wake up!"it shouted before hands were placed on his shoulders. After it became apparent that Reaper was practically immobile, whoever it was pulled him to his feet and draped his arm over their shoulders. They began to walk forward, pulling the recovering Reaper along with them and using one of their wings to shield him from behind. "I need to get you out of here, but I can not do it alone. You must help,"the voice said, giving Reaper the strength to place one foot in front of the other as his mind began to reboot.

"What happened?"Reaper grumbled, his mind still trying to reboot.

"Those cowards brought heavy weapons with them and fired a rocket into our defenses. Most of the men were incinerated. You got lucky,"the man explained. Reaper nodded his head slowly in remembrance, his eyes and ears clearing up. He realized that he was still in the tower that was his home, where he and his family of royal blood resided.

"How many defenders are left?"he asked.

"I am not sure. You are the only one I have seen, sir,"he replied once they came through a large double-doorway. "I need to get these doors shut. Keep going. Your mother and father are in the throne room." Reaper nodded and continued slowly on his path towards the rear of the structure, placing his hand on his stomach and glancing around at what could very well be the last view of his ancestral home. Dark banners still hung from the pillars that held the entrance hall's ceiling up, emblazoned with skulls and crossed scythes, and the black carpet beneath him was barely even wrinkled. The Comedenti had done an admirable job in holding the demons to the outside of the tower, but the defenses couldn't stand forever. Eventually this hall would be ransacked and doused in flames, but for now, it was untouched, and Reaper decided that he would die before it laid in ruin.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Reaper entered the throne room and was greeted by the disarming sight of his parents wrapping their arms and wings around each other as if it would be their final embrace. However, when they saw Reaper, his mother broke away and rushed over. "Reaper, you are alive,"she sighed anxiously, pulling him into a hug.

"We heard explosions and thought the worst,"Death said as he walked over.

"I am fine, but you both need to get out of here. They will be gathering for another attack soon,"Reaper replied as his mother released him, a soft smile on her face.

"We are not going to leave our son, Reaper. Not even for this,"she stated.

"Bu-,"Reaper began, but his father cut him off first,"That is final, son. If we die, then we die together."

"We are not going to die, so do not talk like that. The civilians have already escaped and the men can hold the Vehements back long enough for us to join them,"Reaper argued.

Death opened his mouth to talk sense into his son, but before he could speak, the soldier that had helped Reaper before ran in. "They have broken through the defenses! Your brother is with th-,"he shouted before a series of explosions rocked the building and a cacophony of demonic screams filled the air. Ringing blasted back into Reaper's ears again as he was thrown to the ground next to his parents. Managing to land on his hands and knees allowed him to swiftly recover however, getting back on his feet, but it was in vain because another explosion blew the wall near him to pieces, sending him and the others in the room careening into the far wall. They hit the floor and rolled separate ways, giving Reaper a clear view of the events that were about to unfold.

His brother, Reaver, stepped slowly and ominously through the new hole and the flames resulting from the blast, his closest advisers and lieutenants flanking him on both sides. He raised his armored hand and the Comedenti soldier near him ignited in flames, screaming in agony for a short time until he died.

"I love that sound,"Reaver grinned malevolently, earning a bout of evil laughter from the demons around him, their lava-red eyes glowing eerily in the smoke-filled room. He continued forward, past the incinerated corpse and to the center of the room, his own red eyes scanning for the other occupants. His gaze came to rest upon his mother and he headed towards her unmoving body.

While Reaver was occupied, Reaper heard a soft cough behind him. "Son,"Death muttered, causing him to slowly and painfully roll over. "You do not...have much time. There is a side room next to us, and inside...on a table...is a small case,"he said, every few words interrupted by sharp grunts of pain and winces. "Inside of it, there is a picture...of a place that you must get to. I will...distract your brother to give you a cha-"

"No, Father, I am not leaving you here!"Reaper interrupted quietly, yet defiantly. The last thing he wanted to do was leave his parents to die.

"Reaper...you need to go,"Death told his son, looking him in the eyes. "Otherwise, our race ends here. Please, go and live to f-fight another day. P-promise me that you will get vengeance on Reaver for his crimes and s-save yourself."

Reaper glanced over at Reaver and his henchmen, realizing that the best thing he could do was what his father was proposing: survive. If he didn't, then the demons would invade other realms, billions would die, and the balance between life and death would be broken. He looked back at Death and gave him a subtle nod. "I promise."

"Then you need to find an Azarathian woman and her com-companions near the picture's location. They are the only ones w-who can help you fight back. Understand?"

"I understand,"Reaper answered sadly, although all he really understood was that this was the last time he'd see his family. "I am sorry that I could not stop this."

"Do not blame yourself. I mean it. Y-your mother and I love you, Reaper. Always remember that."

"I will. Goodbye, Father."

"G-goodbye, Son. Now go!"his father said, pushing himself to his feet as black energy formed armor around him and a blade manifested itself in his hands. With that, he let out an angry war cry and rushed Reaver's lieutenants, his wings spread wide and his mind set on killing as many demons as possible as he threw himself at their ranks.

Meanwhile, Reaper jumped to his feet and sprinted towards the door, angry and pained shouts along with the whooshing of the all of the demon's hellfire filling the room behind him. He located the case his father spoke of as soon as he entered the room, fumbling with it for a few seconds before he got it open. He snatched the picture out of it, but not before one of the demons ran through the door behind him, blasting him with a non-lethal stream of fire and launching him over the table and into the wall.

The demon hissed as it stalked towards Reaper before a portal opened up next to the creature, momentarily drawing it's attention as Reaper got to his feet and two submachine guns phased into his hands. He leveled them at the demon and pulled the triggers, spraying it with bullets and causing it to step backwards from the force, giving him the moments necessary to run and dive through the portal, leaving his realm, and his home, behind.

AN: Hello, everyone who read this far. Of course, it was probably pretty easy since this is just the prologue, and therefore, rather short. But anyways, thanks for giving my story a chance. This isn't my first fic, or even my first attempt at this particular story, but this is the first one I'll be keeping on FF. I posted the previous version of this one on here last year, but I'll be honest by saying that one was much different, and rather awful. Thankfully, my writing has evolved significantly since then, and now I also have a beta-reader to help me keep it from devolving, so thanks to Infernokota for that.

Now, I know that most Teen Titans stories focus mainly on the Titans themselves, and that I'm taking a risk by writing mine around an OC, but I can say for certain that I will be trying my best to make it just as interesting as other, well-written fics. So, I hope that everyone who has come this far will like the chapter and continue reading through the story. Realistically, I know it won't appeal to everyone, and I'm fine with that. All I ask is that, if you find something wrong with it, you'll include it in a review if you can find the time. I'm open to both praise and constructive criticism alike, so don't worry about hurting my feelings. I won't hold the story hostage for reviews or anything like that, and I'll try to get a chapter out at least once a week. Again, thanks to everyone who at least viewed this fic and finished the chapter.