Chapter One: Vitium

Robin picked his way through the desolate landscape- the ruins of a city once filled with life, eyes avoiding the horrified gazes of the innocents forever frozen in their greatest moments of terror. He knew he should be planning; he should be strategizing how to defeat the demon that had usurped the earth. He should be fighting, or mourning, but all he could feel and think of was the guilt.

"I could have done something. I should have found a way." As if it were his fault that he could not find a way to deceive fate and destiny, for not being able to manipulate the greater forces in the world into changing the paths they walked. He had felt her hope even as she succumbed to the inevitable: her faith in him. And he had failed.

Failure. His teeth clenched at the thought. No. It wasn't his fault. Why should he blame himself? He could feel the rage flood through his being, consuming. It was her fault. Not his. Never his. She let herself go. She walked away from him. She forced him to live in a world that had no meaning—there was no sign of life. Did she expect him to be happy, living in a literal hell on earth? Why should he blame himself when it was she who didn't trust him?

Trust. And all the anger washed away in the wave of disgust. No. It wasn't her fault. It was never her fault. It wasn't anyone's but Trigon's. He KNEW that, knew it like he knew her mind. But he'd never felt so helpless in his entire life, not since… and there it was again, the guilt. He felt as if he were in an endless cycle, unable to allow reason to settle his thoughts, unable to think that there was no point in placing blame because she was gone. He saw it, he felt it. He didn't want to acknowledge it.

"Raven…" he murmured, knowing that no one could hear him, yet hoping—praying that somehow, someway, maybe his voice would reach her ears in another place, in another time—in another world.

As if in answer, a bird took flight. He recognized it as her namesake. He followed. It wasn't possible. She was gone, and yet this creature… he could feel in the back of his mind, the smallest flicker of recognition.

The raven weaved through the rubble, and he followed in desperation, calling out her name even as it soared further away. He followed her to a building, scaling its walls with no thought of the height, only that he had to catch her, had to catch up, had to get to her. But when he reached the top, he found himself alone, and the raven was gone as if it had been an illusion all along.

He slumped in defeat, sinking onto his knees. She'd flown away. Again. Like some cruel trick. "Raven…" he murmured, escalating into a shout of surprise as the ground beneath his feet crumbled and he fell, arms clutching at air, desperately reaching, cape billowing about him like a pair of useless wings.

He stopped. Jerking to a halt in midair as Cyborg clutched his arm. He was heaved back onto stable ground, and was met by an embrace and Starfire's tender voice. He stiffened.

"Robin, you are unharmed."

He bit back the nasty response that filled his mind at her comment. It felt like a part of him was missing. Her presence in his mind had become something so constant that oftentimes he forgot that it wasn't natural, it hadn't always been there. And in its absence, there was a gaping hole. It hurt.

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Beast Boy flew, hawk wings beating through the air, head craning forward to study the figure he was desperately following. He called out into the air, expecting a reply, but still the raven ignored him and continued to out fly him, hovering just beyond his reach. It led him to the top of a building, before, with a burst of speed, the distance grew between them and it seemed to vanish in the distance. He hovered above the building where his remaining friends gathered, hesitating with narrowed eyes searching for any sign, any movement that hinted at Raven. There was none. He glided to the floor, and approached, hearing the last of Robin's words, "something led me here."

"It led all of us here- almost all of us." The changeling spoke in a steady voice to his surprise. He didn't think it were possible what with all the turbulent emotions churning inside of him.

"But how is this possible? How have we survived?" Starfire's voice spoke up, destroying the solemn silence that kept his mind screaming. And he wanted to howl and rage. Didn't she know? Didn't they KNOW? But he forced himself to calm down. And explained.

"It was Raven. Raven protected us." She protected us, and sacrificed herself. She was gone. Just like Terra.

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Robin could feel the determination overtake him again. He could feel her hope again. She had believed that they could win, that they would live. And he wasn't going to fail that faith again. They would do it- together.

And as their hands met, he could feel a jolt run through him, tossing him back. He could feel her power streaming through him, empowering him. But more importantly, he could feel in that part of his mind where their connection was, flicker in the familiar presence of her power, and distantly, he could almost feel something strain, some tendril of her power stretching and searching. Somehow, that gaping absence in his mind didn't seem so hollow anymore.

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"Raven…" she could hear a voice calling her, urging her to wake up. Distantly, within her mind, she could almost feel a caress. It felt as if something intangible was shouting in jubilation, and she could almost detect a sense of accomplishment as if something important had been found. But that didn't seem right. Had she lost something? Had she found something? She couldn't remember. She searched her mind, looking for something familiar. And there it was, that voice again, murmuring, "Raven…" It was familiar, both name and voice.

"Raven." She spoke aloud, marveling at the sound of her own voice. "Raven," she said again. Was that her name? She decided it must be. With that conclusion, she forced herself to open her eyes.

"Where am I?" She asked out loud, expecting an answer and not receiving one. Dark shadows danced about the room that appeared to be the ruins of a church. A sense of panic filled her as she realized that she didn't know where she was.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Is someone there? She asked, raising her voice. Her only answer was the echo of her own question, almost like a taunt.

"Anyone?" She screamed.

"Help!" The panic clenched about her chest, she could feel the tears spilling in a trail down her cheeks.

"Please! I'm lost!" She tried again. Then, a final simper before the child began to sob. "I'm lost…"

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"Of all the places to crash and burn, why'd it have to be here?" Beast Boy had spoken dejectedly.

Cyborg couldn't help but agree.

They had attempted to attack that demon that claimed to be her father. They had tried and tried, and they failed miserably, tossed back to the place that was the greatest reminder of their greatest failure.

He could feel the frustration overwhelm him: the anger at his litter girl for having left him, the anger at Trigon for leaving her no choice, and most of all, the anger at himself for not having been able to do anything to protect her. "And go where? The whole world is toast. And the only person who'd know what to do is…. We could really use her help right now."

He couldn't bring himself to say her name. His little sister's name, lest he lose what little confidence he had left and let the grief consume him. They needed her here; he needed her here… but she wasn't, just as he wasn't there when she needed him the most. For the first time in a very long time, he felt incomplete. And he hated himself for it.

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He had always dreamed of the day that they would work together. He had planned for it for years, had desired it above all else.

And he was reminded why he had coveted the notion so much. They were the perfect team. Nothing could stop them. Not even the demons of hell.

They were the perfect combination, mirroring each other as if they had train together their whole lives. One after another the creatures of hellfire fell. He had dreamed of this day, but it wasn't enough. He was desperate, weak, and vulnerable.

"I'm here to save Raven, not pity you."

And then Slade knew, knew that somewhere along the way, somewhere amongst all his planning and scheming, his Robin had flown from the nest. He relished in the fulfillment of his greatest dream, knowing that not only would it be the first time, it would be the last.

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Starfire allowed the rage to consume her, manifesting itself into flames of starbolt. One after another she launched them, screaming in fury and frustration at her opponent. She stopped only when she thought that she was victorious.

The smoke settled. She looked about. Nothing. A sigh escaped her.

"Realize, with you gone, Robin will be all mine." The purr was breathed into her ear.

She almost shivered before the connotation reached her. Her hands and eyes began to glow green.

Her counterpart, the darkness of her soul only laughed as she dodged the bolts thrown at her, reveling in the emotions of her source.

"Are you worried about your Robin? Should I tell Trigon where he is?"

"You will do No Such Thing." Starfire replied, even as the worry overtook her. Robin had gone to save Raven. And with yet another burst of fury, she attacked.

It was futile. No matter how hard she tried, her dark copy overpowered her.

"I do not understand how you have come to be." Starfire said, panting as she picked herself up from the ground she had been brutally thrown into.

"Do you not?" The dark Starfire laughed, "Robin has gone to save Raven."

'And why should he not go save friend Raven?' Starfire told herself. Yet despite that, she could not dispel the lingering of discontent, even as she wondered what that feeling of unease meant.

Her darkness only smirked, attacking with the power of her source's jealousy and doubt. She attacked with a fury that overpowered her source's own. The darkness that fueled and empowered her was a force that Starfire could not yet confront and acknowledge. And that made it unstoppable.

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And in a church, much like the one in which he had received a precious secret, Robin chased a little white Raven.

Ah. Sorry about the drama/angst. But I promise that after this, I'll stop just summarizing the episodes. We're finally getting somewhere!

Off to bed. Hope you enjoyed.