And so the story continues...
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The sisters saw the group sitting near the falls and immediately, the half demon's gaze fixated on her love who sat next to her stepmother. The pair approached the red head and their mother. Falcon sat in between her mother and Starfire while Raven of course sat next to the love of her life. The half demon reached out her hand towards the red head who accepted her touch. While intertwining their fingers, the green eyed beauty turned her head towards Falcon.
"You look a lot like your mothers. A perfect combination of them." commented the Tameranian.
"Thank you... I would have to take your word for it for I have never seen my other mother." replied the Rebel Angel.
"You haven't seen Ferranea?" Renseia asked in disbelief.
"No... when Tyrana took her, I did not see what she looked like." explained her daughter.
"A shame..." her older sister replied, a small proud smile on her lips. "Don't worry, you'll see her soon." Raven assured her sister. As the sisters and their mother talked, Michiko approached Starfire who watched as the familiar little girl with wavy blonde hair and light green eyes came closer.
"Hey..." the red head greeted Michiko warmly. Raven, Rensiea, and Falcon all looked at the little girl beside Starfire. "Michiko, this is Falcon, Raven's sister." explained the princess after she had seen the adorable quizzical look on her face. The confused look was quickly replaced by a warm friendly smile.
"Hello Falcon. Do you all wanna play a game with us over there?" the little girl asked as she pointed to the others. They were playing a game of catch. Starfire looked at Raven, her eyes conveying the silent offer. Raven merely shook her head as she tilted her head towards her sister. The red head nodded and understanding.
"You should go." ushered the half demon. "We wouldn't want Michiko to be angry at us now do we?" Raven said as she looked at the little girl. She smiled at Michiko and the child rewarded her a toothy grin in return.
Starfire smiled at her love before turning her head towards Michiko. The pair reluctantly let go of each other's hands. The red head got up from the ground and took Michiko's hand in place of Raven's. The pair walked hand in hand together towards the little girl's new mothers and her team mates while Falcon watched the interaction between the titans and the angels. To her, they all seemed like a happy family. The Rebel Angel soon found herself wondering what it would be like to have a family.
"What was she like?" Falcon asked her mother and sister.
"Your mother?" Renseia asked and her daughter nodded in return. She turned her head towards her mother and sister. "She is a very beautiful woman. Kind, sweet, and caring. She has the most beautiful smile, and a way with children. She is a calm and gentle person."
"What kind of mother was she like Raven?" the young teen asked her sister.
"I can't answer that..." the older half angel replied. "I never even met our mother. Well, I mean I don't remember her at all."
"What do you mean." inquired the younger girl.
"I was given away to Azar when I was just a baby." Raven informed her sister.
"I don't understand..." Falcon stated as she attempted to absorb the information. Tyrana never told her that her had been given away too. According to her demon mentor, she was the unwanted child. That her parents favored her half sister because they believed she was more powerful that her. Falcon found herself wondering why they would give Raven away if she was their favorite. Maybe it was because they knew they'd be unable to train her?
"You see I don't know if you know this but, Trigon, Tyrana's older brother is my father. He was one of the most powerful demons alive. Just like Tyrana." Raven started to explain. "Well, my so called father raped our mother and I was conceived from that cruel act."
The teen nodded her head, motioning for her sister to continue. She had heard this before and knew that her older sister was indeed the bastard offspring of the demon Trigon.
"I was away from your mother when it happened." Renseia told Falcon. "When I came back, she was pregnant. I was so angry at her. I didn't want to hear any of her explanations." she looked into her daughters eyes. "I ran... I didn't want to see your mother or even talk to her." admitted the part sorceress. "Hetea and Gevea tried to find me. Your mother and I have been friends with them even before we could crawl." Renseia explained. "I'd been separated from your mother for thousands of years. Hetea and Gevea finally found me and talked to me. They made me realize that you mother loved me. I also realized that I was more angry with myself than anyone else. Angry because I could not protect her. They also told me that Trigon had been trying to get to Raven. They told me that the cursed demon actually came close to killing your sister and your mother. In a rush, I returned to her. After I begged for her forgiveness, I suggested that we give Raven away to Azerath, where my friend Azar could train her. But we didn't give your sister away because we hated her, but your mother and I both knew that she needed to harness her emotion driven powers and that we couldn't protect her. Not when Trigon had scours of demons looking for the two of us. Thousands of years later, Ferra had you. We decided that it was time to take Raven back. She was old enough to control her powers. On our way to Azerath, Tyrana ambushed us. She contacted Trigon and he came. Tyrana tortured your mother into telling her and Trigon where we were keeping Raven. She didn't tell Tyrana anything. Hetea and Gevea came to our rescue. Your mother was greatly injured in her battle with Trigon. She's been a coma for thousands of years. I would have come for you and Raven but I also was in a coma. I only woke up about 2,000 years ago." Renseia explained to Falcon. Raven could sense the confusion radiating off of her sister.
"What is it?" the half demon asked her sister.
"That's how I ended up with Tyrana?" asked the Rebel Angel.
"Yes." Raven answered.
"But I thought you hated me." Falcon whispered.
"Is that what Tyrana told you?" Renseia asked incredulously and received a nod from her daughter.
"She told me that you favored Raven... that you used her to kill Trigon." replied the confounded teen. "It does not make any sense."
"What doesn't?" Raven asked.
"Your father was trying to unite the dimension under his rule for peace. At least that is what Tyrana told me. Every time I fought, she would tell me that it was for peace. That it was for the good of the dimensions. It is what she told me every time I felt guilty because I killed." the teen stated. Her sister chuckled bitterly.
"Trigon conquered dimensions to feed his greed. He wanted power." Raven told her younger sibling. "Not peace. He's not the saint that Tyrana made him out to be."
"Then why did you side with him?" Falcon asked. She saw the flash of guilt in Raven's eyes. "I apologize. I did not mean to upset you." the teen said as she reached out to her sister and placed her hand on top of her sisters.
"Not... it's alright." Raven assured her sister. "I was angry." revealed the half demon. "Pathetic I know."
"About?" Falcon asked.
"I thought Starfire had betrayed me. I didn't want to be around her. We used to be a team of super heroes. We all lived under the same roof. I couldn't stay and watch her be with someone who wasn't me. I had started transforming just before that. I didn't know where to go, I couldn't go back to Azar because I thought my demonic side was slowly taking control of me. I thought it was starting out with my appearance, then my powers started growing. I was sure I was becoming a demon and Trigon offered me an resolution to my problems. One that provided me a solution to all my problems. I would be starting anew. No one would know me and I would not care for anyone. I no longer had to be near Starfire and if my demon did take control of me, at least I would be in a place where no one my human half cared about. And in return, I had to fight for him. Biggest mistake of my life."
"That is how you earned the name Reaper?" Falcon asked her sister who nodded her head in reply. "The reaper and the rebel." the teen said. Raven and Renseia could hear the amusement in their younger counterpart's voice. "Rather amusing... the names that we have." mused the Rebel Angel. "We earned those names by killing everything that stood in our way."
"You thought you were fighting for good." Raven reasoned with her sister.
"Yes... but there were times when I enjoyed it." Falcon admitted. "The name given to me makes sense. I was an angel who killed other angels. I killed my own species. Granted I thought they were evil, I killed them regardless." she told her mother and sister. Her hands were tainted with the blood of her own kind.
"Just like me." Raven muttered.
"Not really. You're a half demon. It is expected of you." the teen disagreed.
"Raven, your mind was clouded with anger. You weren't thinking straight. Falcon, you thought you were slaying evil. You didn't know right from wrong." Renseia comforted her stepdaughter and daughter. "Think of all the good you two are doing now." she reminded her daughters.
"Will it ever be enough?" Raven asked.
"I think it will." Falcon answered. "It has to."
"At least, we'll face this together this time." the half demon said to her sister who turned her head towards Starfire and saw the other girl coming. The red head was followed by the titans and the other angels along with Michiko. The princess of Tameran sat next to Raven and smiled at Falcon. Michiko took the opportunity to sit on Raven's lap. The little girl settled herself while the older woman wrapped her arm around her.
"Hello Raven." Michiko greeted.
"Hello Michi. You been a good girl? Not giving your mothers a bad time?" Raven asked Michiko who shook her head no. Falcon took advantage of her sister's distraction. She leaned in closer towards Starfire who had noticed her actions. The red head decided to meet her half way and did the same. The Rebel angel's lips hovered above the red heads ear.
"It seems like the two of you will be together sooner than you think." Falcon whispered to the red head who moved away from her, shock evident in her emerald green eyes. Starfire moved closer to the teen again.
"How do you know?" Starfire whispered. "Did she say anything?" asked the alien.
"I just know." grinned the nodded her head at Falcon.
"What are you two talking about?" Raven asked as she played with Michiko. The little girl giggled when she saw Falcon and Starfire break away from each other.
"Nothing..." Starfire said abruptly.
"She's not a very good liar huh Raven?" Michiko asked.
"No... Starfire isn't a good liar." replied the half demon as she held the little girl. The other's laughed when they saw the blush upon the red heads cheek. "But that's one of the things I love about her." Raven continued. The alien princess and the others looked at the half demon with wide eyes.
"Love?" every one, even Falcon, except Starfire and Michiko said. The little girl laughed when she saw the faint blush on the half demon's cheeks.
"I said love?" Raven asked out loud, feigning innocence. Everyone nodded their heads.
"There are no backsies! You can't take it back." Michiko stated.
"Who said I wanted to?" the half demon asked as she looked at the red head.
"You better not take it back." Starfire stated as she challengingly glared at Raven. The other's laughed at the paris actions. Michiko tugged at the half demon. Raven looked down at the girl in her arms and followed her gaze. She saw a small smile on her sister's lips. She tilted her head to the side, towards her sister. Everyone looked at where Raven's head was pointing and saw Falcon smiling.
"She's smiling." observed the Rebel Angel's mother.
"And what a beautiful smile she has." Hetea complimented.
"It makes you look even more beautiful..." Nightingale told Falcon. Every one turned their heads towards the descendant of Robin.
"Beautiful? You think I am beautiful?" the teen inquired with a raised brow.
"We'd have to be blind not to see it." Nightingale replied as her eyes met with Falcons. The seemingly younger girl was trying hard to see the depths behind the mask. She could only imagine what was playing through those orbs but she judging from the faint blush on the masked woman's cheeks, she had a pretty good idea. Nightingale broke the eye contact. "I mean just look at you heritage. Your mothers are beautiful. Your sister is too. Why wouldn't you be beautiful?"
"Thank you." the Rebel Angel peered curiously at the blonde. She had been called many things, 'alluring', 'cute', 'pretty', 'sexy' but never beautiful. She grinned as she looked at Nightingale who smirked in return. The teen then turned her head towards her sister and her mother.
"You should smile more often." suggested Starfire.
"I never really had anything to smile about." Falcon stated as her eyes graced a quick gander at the masked heroine yet again. "But now, I think that has changed." Falcon said with a grin on her face. Michiko broke away from Raven and walked towards Falcon. She sat next to Raven's sister. "Michiko was it?" she asked the little girl who nodded her head.
"What color are your wings?" Michiko asked with genuine curiosity.
"Blue... do you want to see them?" Falcon asked and the little girl nodded her head enthusiastically. A pair of blue wings emerged from the part angel's back. Michiko looked at them with awe in her eyes. "What about your wings?" the teen asked as she engaged in a conversation with younger girl who scooted closer to her and eventually sat in her lap. Falcon was a little uneasy at first, not being used to the small child's innocent affection towards her, but then settled and placed her arms around the child. Everyone looked at Michiko and Falcon, amazed by how the two acted towards each other.
They approached each other curiously, both testing their boundaries to determined what was appropriate. Falcon had never really been around children. Well, not since she was one. The others continued to banter with one another as the little girl and the seemingly estranged teen approached each other with a child like innocence.
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I know you're tired of reading me write this, but I am SORRY! You guys have been waiting for so long... I can only hope that you will continue to read the story, despite my shortcomings.
I would love to know what you guys are thinking/feeling about the story right now. Share your thoughts/emotions about the story and/or my failure to update sooner by reviewing. I have no right to ask this because I haven't really been true to my word about faster updates but please REVIEW anyway.
