As I rewrite this story I keep taking out parts of the handwritten one and combining them into new chapters. I tended to stick in a lot of stuff that really doesn't need to be there back when I handwrote all these stories that I'm typing up. I hope all this makes sense with the new stuff I wrote to connect the parts I left together.

Of Moonbeams and Starlight

chapter 7

After several weeks Raven finally returns to the comfort of her own room. She has been wanting to go back to Azarath very badly.

When Red X comes in for the evening he finds his sister staring at the spell that opens the portal to Azarath. "You're still weak Artemis."

"I need to know...please Apollo."

"Have you mentioned this to any of the others?"

"No."

"The only way I'll do this is if you tell the others. They worry about you. What do think they're going to do if they come up here and find you've gone to some other dimension?"

"Freak out."

Red X just stands there staring at his sister.

"Fine, I'll let them know." She picks up her communicator. "Robin could you come up here, my brother wants to ask you something." She turns off the communicator before her brother can respond.

"Don't pin this idea off on me."

"You started it."

"You really have no idea how much you're loved do you Artemis?"

"What?"

"You all are much more than friends around here. You're like one big family...dysfunctional-but still a family."

"She might realize that if she weren't locked up in her room all the time."

Red X looks back at Robin who stands in the doorway. "I told her that she needed to find an outdoor hobby, but she just wants to sit up here and learn Greek...and by the way she's the one with the question."

"The two of you are starting to make me glad that I never had any brothers or sisters." Robin turns to Raven. "So what's this question?"

"It isn't so much of a question...my brother just wants me to let you know that I want to go to Azarath."

"And you think you're strong enough for that?"

"I could cast the spell in my sleep. I'll be fine."

Red X turns to Robin. "As much as I am concerned about her, I know if she doesn't have someone with her-she could go off on her own and end up in trouble."

"So you are going with her?"

"I wouldn't let her go back alone."

Robin looks at Raven. "Its not like I can stop her, but I would feel better if she didn't go off alone." He enters the room and sets down a duffel bag on the bed. "Cyborg helped switch the suit over from xinothium to a stable fuel source."

Raven looks up at Robin. "Thank you for that."

"Both of you just be careful." Robin leaves the twins alone.

Red X turns to his sister. "See how easy that was?"

She just rolls her eyes as she picks up the book. "Are you ready now?"

"We don't know what we're going to find out there. You will need to save your strength to get us back, so give me a few minutes to change in case there is trouble."

Raven points to her private bathroom. As her brother takes the suit to go change she gets up and goes over to her shelf. Normally she would use her powers to spread the powder from the bottles she picks up into a magic circle, but she does that herself this time. She sets up the candles and lights them. She stands there until her brother comes back-wondering if it really is too soon for this.

"Ready?" Red X lays the duffel bag and mask down on the bed.

"Yeah."

Red X joins his sister in the circle and takes her hand.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos kalazon recashos endarath vasirix zendrien Azarath Azarath Azarath!"

He finds himself surprised by the beauty of the portal as they travel to the gate-he has forgotten just how beautiful things were in Azarath. Red X holds Raven close-fearing what they might find on the other side of the looming gate.

As the gate allows them entrance into Azarath Raven shuts her eyes-fearing to look at it. Earth had been restored after he father used her for a portal, but she finds herself doubting that Azarath would have been.

Red X looks out at the wasteland that used to be the magnificence of the city-which now lies in ruin. He looks down at Raven to see her eyes shut tight.

"Apollo...is it?"

"I'm sorry Artemis."

Its all Raven can do to hold back her tears as she opens her eyes and takes in the scene before her. "Its all my fault--"

"--no it isn't Artemis. There was a chance you could have found help here to stop the prophecy. They knew the risks when they took our mother in." He looks down at the belt-he has never tried to teleport anyone other than himself and with a new fuel source in an alternate dimension it isn't a good time to experiment. He takes out a grappling hook and fires it at one of the overhead asteroids. "Come on lets find what we came here for."

Raven holds onto tight to her brother as he jumps off the asteroid carrying her over the main one with the ruins of the city.

"You still get motion sick?"

"I try to hide it."

"Good idea. If any of the villains find that out they would use it against you."

"You sure they wouldn't be afraid of getting thrown up on?" Raven lets go of her brother and kneels there on the ground as she gets her bearings.

From the shadows of the ruins Slade watches the twins as they wander into the ruined city. He looks down at the bundle of diamonds he already gathered from the ruins of the monastery. He is sure that is what they are after. If they want more for their precious orphans then she will just have to make them. He has plans for these. He decides to take his leave while twins are occupied.

Raven looks back suddenly-for a brief moment she could have sworn that she sensed someone else here.

"Artemis!"

Raven turns around and goes over her brother. "Find something?"

Red X holds up a dagger. "This belonged to the guy who gave us the necklaces."

"One of the few people around here that was nice to us."

"The only one if you ask me."

"Azar was always good to me in the monastery..." Raven walks over to the remains of the tower where their mother lived. In the ruins she finds a charred leather bound book. She picks it up and dusts it off. "I think this was our mother's journal." She holds the book in her arms as they finally make their way to where the monastery would have been.

"Notice anything odd?"

"What do you mean?"

"There should be magical artifacts every where that a fire couldn't have destroyed. There is nothing here."

Raven looks around again as she remembers the feeling she had earlier.

"Did you sense someone?"

"I thought I did for a moment, but its gone now."

"Come on-lets go look for the tears and get out of here."

"Who could have known how to get here?"

"We'll worry about that later-come on."

Raven looks around one last time before following her brother. They search the grounds of what was the monastery but there is no trace what-so-ever of the diamond tears.

"If they kept them someone found them already. I still don't get why they did that to you."

"They were tears...maybe they just evaporated in the fire."

"No-trust me those were the real deal. Lets get out of here before whoever has been here comes back."

Raven takes one last look around before she follows her brother back. She still feels that the destruction of this place was her fault.

The walk back to the portal is slow. Red X is surprised that Raven is even able to get them back. She leans heavily on him when they are back in her room. He picks her up and lays her down on the bed.

"Is she okay?"

Red X looks up to see Robin standing in the doorway. "She's exhausted...she wasn't ready for this."

"The others have been pacing the floor since you two left."

"Let them know she'll be fine after some rest."

"You okay?"

"Just being there again brought back a lot of memories." He looks up as the trouble alert alarm goes off. He looks down at Raven-it doesn't even phase her. "Need some help?"

"Maybe you should stay with Raven for now. I'll call if we need you."

Red X takes the book from Raven's arms and cleans it up along with the dagger he found

*****

Raven awakens several hours later. She looks around to find she's in her room-she doesn't even remember the trip back through the portal.

Red X looks up from the dagger he has been studying. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"I told you that you were still weak."

Raven gets up and walks over to the book that she found. It has been cleaned up but the edges and cover are still charred. She turns around looking out the window when she sees the lights of the city. How long have I been asleep?"

"It's been a few hours since the others left when the alarm went off."

"Did they come back?"

"I didn't go check. Chuckles said that he would call if he needed help." Red X watches as Raven rushes out of the room. "Where are you going.?" He follows his sister down to OPS.

Raven stops when she sees all the mail bags piled every where. "What's going on?"

"Coming through!"

Red X pulls Raven out of the way when Cyborg comes in with several more bags of mail-followed by the others who have several more.

"What is all this?"

Beast Boy sits down the bags of mail he has. "Get well wishes for you. They've been arriving at the post office for weeks now...they called us to come pick them all up."

Red X whispers to Raven. "I told you that you have no idea how much you're loved, Artemis."

Raven gives her brother a mean look for using her real name around the others.

Starfire looks up as she sits the mail bags down. "We shall be helping out with the children tomorrow, yes?"

"Right." Robin fishes out Silkie who has gotten himself buried in a toppled bag of mail and hands him over to Starfire."

"I don't know about anyone else, but I'm going to bed early." Beast Boy turns around and heads for his room.

Cyborg scratches his head. "Who are you and what did you do with Beast Boy?"

"He has a good idea, come Silkie." Starfire follows Beast Boy out of the room.

Robin turns to Raven. "Will you stay here and keep an eye on the crime scanners for us?"

Raven looks around at all the mail still in shock over it. "Sure."

Red X follows Robin as he leaves the room. "I'm sure you realize by now that the two of us look very different without this make-up stuff."

"Yeah, I got that impression."

"I don't hide for the kids, but since Raven isn't ready to show herself yet, I'm just going to hang out at the office tomorrow."

"Is Raven okay...she seemed to be shocked by all the mail."

"She has been hated all her life. For a whole city to be concerned about her is something new for her. Its just going to take her some time to get used to it. I'll stick around for awhile to make sure she is okay."

Robin nods before continuing onto his room. Red X goes back into OPS as Cyborg leaves. Raven has been going through some of the mail. She expects to find messages saying they hate her, but all the ones she open just wish her well.

"Now do you believe me?"

"No."

"You're a hero Artemis. A lot of people look up to you and care about what happens to you. Why is that so hard for you to wrap your head around?"

"I was born to destroy the world."

"But you didn't."

"Yes, I did--I gave into our father. I set him free on this world."

"So that's it...you feel guilty because of the way they treat you after you did that."

"Of course I do."

"None of us would be here right now if you didn't defeat him. And he couldn't be defeated until he was set free. Its over--you're free now. You have friends, family, and a whole city that love you."

"I think I need to go lay down for awhile."