Holy Bejeebus!

Anyhow, I'm back, after a vacation…no a sabbatical (haha)
Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

Review please!

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"His name is Edorchan. He is my half brother, and heir to the throne of Trigon the Terrible." Raven said in a monotone voice.

An eerie silence came over the group, but was broken suddenly by an outburst from…

"WHAT?"

…Beast Boy.

The others had similar looks, with Robin being characteristically unreadable, but Raven could feel his questions rise out of his mind almost uncontrolled, and silently thanked him for not voicing those questions.

The others were not so kind.

"Hold on, you have a brother?" Cyborg asked, holding both hands out as if to stop the idea with the gesture.

"Half brother." Raven corrected. "My mother had no other children."

"All right, all right, so he's your half-brother. Why is he here? And why did he waste Slade and attack us?"

Raven shook her uncovered head in confusion, "I need to meditate."

The blue cloaked girl walked off silently among protests from Cyborg and Beast Boy about not telling them anything, and being too closed up about important things. She pressed on, flustered, through the door as a concerned green-eyed alien caught up with her in the empty hallway.

"…Raven?" Starfire asked quietly.

Raven turned her full attention to her, knowing that she was being quite serious.

"Is your brother… like my sister?" She asked in a sad voice.

Raven stared at Starfire with a façade well practiced over the years.

"I don't know Star." I hope not, she thought.

She drew up her hood and phased through the remaining walls to her door. Safely inside, she ran to her mirror and picked it up. Staring into it, she found herself quickly in Nevermore, greeted by chaos.

Her emotions were going full tilt in her mind now, ranting and raving, wailing and sobbing (Happy was just ecstatic that Edorchan was back). Everything was out of control, so she shouted to her emotions to be quiet. It took several tries by her and Intelligence to get them all calm enough to resemble some sort of order, in the form of a disjointed semicircle formed around her. Rage stood off to the side, yet seemed more interested than she usually would have. Fear was next to her, face filled with terror. Opposite them, Happy was trying to console Timid, with little success as usual. Intelligence was flipping through one book or another, while Courage was boasting how she had stood up to Edorchan in the confrontation before.

And in the center of the semicircle was Guilt.

Raven blinked in confusion. Why was Guilt here? What could she possibly have to bring…

"You left him." The ill-colored emotion said quietly.

A cold chunk of what felt like ice formed in Raven's stomach. Guilt continued.

"You know what happened, when Father came all those years ago. When you fled from Azarath, and abandoned him." The voice was now full-fledged, lacking no drop of accusation.

"He told me to leave," Raven said finally, "We both knew what would happen."

"Is that your excuse? He told you to? You ran away and left him to our Father's tender mercies, and all you can say is that you were told to?" Guilt said incredulously.

Raven consciously unclenched her hands. These were her emotions, she controlled them. "No. I knew he was right. We couldn't beat Trigon."

"But we did beat our Father. We sent him back to Hell!" Courage asserted.

"And so the question still stands, Raven, why did you leave him?" Guilt crossed her arms, staring.

Raven felt the coldness lumped in her gut spread… she felt the horrible memory snap back…

She heard the shouts of men and the screams and cries of the women and children. Yet she wasn't one of them. She wasn't saying anything at all. All she was doing, staring at Edorchan, was trying to understand what he was telling her.

"Go." He said again.

She shook her head. No way would she leave him here. She couldn't leave him here.

A terrible roar was heard in the distance. Nearby, members of the Azarathian Mage Guard stood firm, readying themselves against the fearsome intruder's approach. Their chants mingled with the chorus of cries in the distance, giving the setting an even more foreboding feel.

"Raven," Edorchan spoke again, "Leave. Now. We both know what will happen if he catches us both. Go with Arella. Go to Earth, and be safe. Fight your destiny as I know you will. As I will fight mine."

Tears began to form, spilling out in small streaks on her cheeks. She looked him straight in his cloud-gray eyes, imploring him to come with him.

She found her voice, "Please, don't make me go without you."

"Raven," He said, features softening, "You can make it. I know you can. You are strong, and you have the determination to make it."

"But if I am so strong, I should stay here and fight with you!" Raven half-shouted, half-pleaded.

"No, Raven. It is not yet time for you to face your destiny, to make your choice. My time has come."

"How will I know the choices to make with no one to guide me?"

He chuckled softly. 'How could he laugh at a time such as this?' She wondered.

"You will find that help can come in strange ways, dear sister. Now go; do not waste any more precious time."

Stiffly, she walked toward her waiting mother, and began the enchantment that would transport her to Earth. Just when she was about to enter the blinding vortex, a looming figure appeared and unleashed a mighty roar that shook the ground. Edorchan, hands crackling with energy, readied himself for battle. The titanic figure stood to speak, and Edorchan risked a fleeting glance at Raven.

"GO!" He shouted, and she dove through the portal, the last time she had ever seen her half-brother...

When she had come out of her trance, she was still in Nevermore. Her emotions were now gone, leaving her and Intelligence alone in the vast expanse.

"I locked them up once more," Intelligence stated, pushing her glasses higher onto her nose, "But not all stay peacefully, I'm afraid."

After she left Nevermore, Raven sighed and wiped the tear streaks from her face. This was going to take a lot of meditation.

Shortly after, she heard a knock at her door. She sighed again, the weariness of the memory settling on her shoulders.

'Arrgh…'

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Robin was at Raven's door.

He couldn't help it. He was a detective, he needed answers. On the other hand, he understood that Raven needed her privacy. It was a delicate balance, a line he had walked for a long time.

Time to cross that line again, he decided, to see if he could get any answers.

He reached up his hand and knocked on her door.

Shortly after, it slipped open, and Raven was standing there, looking exhausted.

"Raven? Are you okay?" He asked, caught off-guard.

Her mouth opened to form a witty reply, but she couldn't get it past her lips. She looked at Robin, and knew that he was here for answers. Shaking her head no, she stepped back to let him inside.

"Where should I begin?" She said.

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Deep in the bowels of the city, Edorchan sat in a meditative stance. The wound that Raven had given him had healed shortly after it was inflicted, leaving no trace of any harm she had done.

He was concentrating on an old trick, and a painful one, to give him a moment's peace from his demon side, so he could set in place assets that would be of great use to Raven, and perhaps even speak with her…

The prospect filled him with elation, though he clamped down on it quickly; he did not want to forewarn the voice inside of his intentions.

He could hear the darkness inside of him ranting and raving, and then began the process silently.

Then the memories came…

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Author's note: Again, I apologize for not updating sooner, but here you go, I hope it is to your liking. I will do my utmost to update again soon.

Thanks to all my reviewers!