Author's Notes: Welcome back everyone, and thank you all for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my humble work.

avp5 – Oh, Lev is far from done with Slade yet, so without further delay…

A Demon's Nature

He had won, standing over the decrepit form of Slade, and yet it wasn't enough. Slade's body was rotting and there was no stopping it without Mana though the nerves seemed to be intact, the pain apparent in his eye; but it wasn't enough. After all, this wasn't the first time Slade had taken joy in hurting Raven, haunting her dreams and acting as Trigon's messenger those few years ago. The pain and heartache she must have felt, knowing she was going to cause the end of the world and he rubbed her face in it.

Slade laid on the ground, his right hand and heel severed, left leg split vertically from the knee down, the large cut to his chest and arm broken. Perhaps if his body wasn't failing so drastically, he would have been able to fight more, but still…

"It's not enough." Levous whispered hollowly as an image of Raven's current condition flashed through his mind. A burst of black flames erupted from the tip of his blade, followed by a gleam of ebony frost, extending the sword.

"That's right fledgling. Instill into this pathetic man's mind the fear of crossing a Dragon!" The draconic voice edged him on from the darkest depths of his mind. "Show him the consequences to his actions."

"Suffer you say?" Slade asked, unwilling to let things stay as they were. "Please, you're a Titan Levous, and you've beaten me. Would you still strike an enemy while he's down? Knowing that you are a hero?"

"Hero?" The white haired sorcerer replied, his voice colder than the arctic wind. "I stop a few random criminals, halt a tornado and fight a Dragon, and you think I'm a hero?" It was then Levous noticed something odd about Slade's wounds… they weren't bleeding.

"You think the Titan's will allow you to stay with them if you continue this? There are camera's set up all over this stadium, there is no way they won't find out." The dark villain threatened. "Would Raven accept you if you were to kill me now?"

"Don't you dare speak her name." Levous threatened, slashing away the black and copper mask. Beneath was discolored flesh, falling off its bone, and one eye missing, though it looked like an old wound to begin with. "I'm not like the other Titan's Slade. I do have blood on my hands. I can't be a hero."

"And you're no villain either, boy." Slade said, as he began to cough violently. He covered his mouth with his remaining hand, and when he removed it Levous saw a familiar sight. A soft glowing blue liquid.

Quickly, he swung his sword, cutting the hand from the villain and retrieved it. Upon a quick examination, Levous could tell it was Mana, but it was of poor quality, nothing like what he could produce. Still, Mana was Mana and as he touched it, his body instantly absorbed it.

"Where did you get this Mana?" He asked, tossing aside the useless limb.

"Why would I tell you?"

The air was filled with a small surge of electricity, followed shortly after by the sound of light bulbs shattering as the stadium was filled with darkness. The emergency lights kicked in, but the damage was already done.

"Now then, shall we talk?" Levous asked, as he slowly sunk the tip of his blade into Slade's shoulder and twisted it.

Slade bore the pain, gritting his teeth as he glared at Levous. "So you're really going to cast yourself out of the only 'home' you have here?"

"No one can see us now, Slade." Levous stated with a decidedly dark smile. "I shorted out all the main power supplies in the stadium."

Understanding slowly crept over Slade's eye as it widened mostly in shock, but there was something else to it.

"Now tell me. Where did you get that Mana from?" The ivory haired caster asked again, cutting the blade out of Slade's shoulder down through his armpit.

"If you must now, I produced it myself." Slade replied, glaring at Levous.

"How?" He asked, frowning down at the armored villain and stabbing into Slade's knee. "The more questions I have to ask, the more I'll torture you. Tell me how you did it. Everything."

"Since you're going to kill me either way, I see no true reason to tell you anything."

"Hope, Kindness, Self-Control, Intellect… close your eyes and plug your ears… I'd rather you not see me like this." An even darker smile crack Levous' face as the shadows hid his eyes. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Since a certain, impatient sorcerer destroyed the elevator; it took some time for Jinx, Cyborg and Kid Flash to get back to the Common Room; the slow pace something the super speedster was not use to.

"Come on, I could have ran back and forth a hundred times by now." He complained as they entered the room.

"Yeah, and opened your wound and bled out a hundred times too." Cyborg replied.

"Did you guys see that black fire too?" Jinx asked, ignoring Cyborg and Kid Flashes littler argument.

"Was that Levous?" Wonder Girl asked.

"Most likely." Robin replied.

"But how? I thought he lost his ability to use magic."

"He told us before that his mansion is filled with magical weapons and armors." Beast said. "Not to mention the other charms on that bracelet."

"Mansion? Bracelet?" The unison choir of confusion from Kid Flash, Jinx and Wonder Girl asked.

"It is surprising how much of friend Levous we have come to except as 'normal' is it not?" Starfire observed, giggling lightly at the present founding members of the Teen Titans.

"Hard to believe we were once as confused as they are." Cyborg agreed, smiling.

"Well, we have time before Lev gets back. I guess we could explain a few things about Lev and Aero in the meantime." Beast boy added.

"Speaking of Aero, I haven't seen him in a while." Robin commented, looking around the room.

"Now that you mention it, where is the little guy?" Cyborg asked.

Sitting in the wind on the roof of the Tower, the lone green pseudo dragon looked out over the city, his tiny obsidian claws digging into the concrete ledge.

It was a rare enough sight to see either Slade so badly beaten, or Levous displaying such cruelty; rarer still for the two scenarios to happen at the same time.

His deep voice hoarse from yelling in pain, Slade laid on the ground as Levous pulled his sword out of the stump where Slade's left hand once was. He couldn't move his body from a combination of too many wounds, a fear of the pain that would come and the lack of limbs to move. Slade knew all too well the stated of his body, decomposing was bad enough, but Levous had been thorough in his torture. Both his femurs were broken in three places, as well as his tibias and fibulas, all of which were cut open and exposed. All his toes were split in half, and the skin was peeling of the broken bones of his right arm. Each of his ribs were broken were they met his sternum and spine, and broken again in the middle for good measure. His collar bones were each cut half way through four or five times, and his spine was laying next to him; all of which was done slowly so he could anguish over ever second. Indeed it was a gruesome sight, and had he been truly alive, he would have passed out and died long ago.

"Now then, what should I do next?" Levous asked, and though he was going to such an extent, there was no enjoyment in his eyes.

"No… No more… I'll tell you." Slade said, no longer willing to subject himself to such inhuman torture. "I found a heart… in one of the caves outside of Jump city… I created a device that can locate and measure Mana levels, and it measured off the charts. I later realized it was your heart, but what intrigued me the most was the blood that flowed out of it was laced with Mana."

"That's how my heart works. It infuses my blood with Mana, and I draw on that power as I cast." Levous explained, his gaze still cold.

"I was able hook your heart up to a machine and pump blood through it; I even found a way to process the blood and extract the Mana with the help of Professor Chang."

"You managed all that in a week?"

"I'm efficient. There was a problem however; it would seem the process you heart uses to fuse Mana to blood damages greatly, effecting the quality and usable quantity of the Mana itself."

"No, there's nothing wrong with the blood… not really." Levous stated. "There's no will to use the Mana as it enters the blood. Without a strong will, Mana can lose all its power."

The stadium began to fill with the faint sound of sirens from outside.

"I'm done with you." Levous said, turning and walking away from the mangled living corpse.

"Are you sure you're really saving her? Raven went through so much the first time Trigon appeared. She is a demon; evil and destruction are in their nature." Slade warned, which halted Levous' exit. "One day she will destroy the world… It's only a matter of time."

He wasn't going to hear any more of it; he wasn't going to let Slade speak such slander against Raven. Before he even realized it, his blade had cut half way through Slade's throat, splitting his vocal cords. "The police should have no trouble getting you out of here. I'll get Raven myself." The dark blade of his sword melted and faded away as he left the field.

"I can sense her." He thought to himself as he made his way through the shadowed corridors.

"Go back, ignorant child! Kill that man." The draconic voice roared angrily.

"I've done enough, he can suffer the wounds I gave him as his body rots away."

"And what of your heart? Not going to ask him where it is?"

"I can sense that too, with that bit of Mana I absorbed I can sense magical powers again."

"You should still kill him."

"YOU THINK I DON'T WANT TO?" Levous snapped back. "Everything he's done to Raven, and you seriously think I don't want to kill him? That I don't want to make him suffer more?"

"Then why let him live?"

"Because… I realized that I can only move around right now because of Raven's power. I won't use the strength she gave me to kill… I'm shamed enough that I torture Slade to that extent using her power… but I just couldn't…"

"It is okay Levous." Kindness's voice called out, reassuring him. "You restrained yourself in the end."

"Which was more an act of cruelty than kindness." He replied.

"No, it is never cruel to allow someone to live."

"How is Raven doing?"

"She's waiting."

It was dark in the room where Slade had left her, the lights suddenly exploding earlier and no emergency lights were installed; but that didn't matter. She could tell, be able to share information with the emotions in Levous, she knew he would be there soon.

"Levous…" She was growing faint, most likely from blood loss, the most recent cut from Slade being the worse one.

Suddenly, the door was blown off its hinges as Levous ran into the room, with a shield Raven had never seen before.

"Raven!" He called out, seeing her instantly, his eyes widening at the sight. On the jumbo screen was one thing, but seeing with his own eyes was much worse. All the cuts looked mostly the same he could just see them in better detail, but the newest one he had not seen; since the jumbo screen had been destroyed with his large fiery attack. It ran diagonally, from left shoulder to right hip. He quickly destroyed the wall around her restraints and carried her in his arms, weeping. "I'm sorry Raven… It's all my fault… I… I…"

"Thank you, Levous." Raven said, slowly raising her hand to his face. "For saving me."

He grabbed her hand and fell to the floor with her in his lap. "I should have been here sooner."

"It's okay. Let's go home." She said soothingly, wrapping her arms around him.

"Sure." He whispered, slowly standing up and walking out the door. As he walked down the corridors, Levous reached into his pocket and grabbed his communicator. "Levous to Titan Tower, is anyone there?"

"Robin here Levous. What's your status?" The spiky haired, masked leader answered.

"I beat Slade, and I have Raven. She's been cut all over, but she's safe."

"That's good to hear, we'll be there to pick you up soon." He was being professional, but anyone could hear the joy and relief in Robin's voice. "Thank you." It was quick and faint, but Levous was sure he heard it.

The two reached the stadium just as the police were flooding in, but something was wrong. Slade's body was gone, and if the police were just arriving at the scene, they couldn't have taken him already. Levous looked around the stadium wildly, but saw nothing.

"Levous?" Raven asked, seeing that something was wrong.

"It's nothing I guess…" He replied, not wanting to worry her. "I'll just beat him next time again."

The police allowed the two Titans to leave after Levous quickly explained what had happened.

"I'm sorry by the way." Levous said with a kind smile as he looked down to Raven, her hands glowing an icy blue as she treated the minor injuries she had.

"Sorry for what?" She asked, his one indicated that he was apologizing for something unrelated to her abduction.

"For not being able to let the first thing you see be a clear sky." He replied as they exited the structure, the path of carnage left in his wake spread out before them, and the patches of sky visible through the clouds disappearing behind smoke.

"That's an odd thing to apologize for." She said, confused.

"There's a story in my world, it's a couple hundred years old now, about how the Legion came the closest they ever had to securing a strong foothold onto the continent. It is regarded as one of the Realms darkest days, but in amidst the storm that blackened the sky, two Sorcerers united their power and cleared the skies over the entire continent at the cost of their lives. The Legion was pushed back after that, and though unnamed, the couple is the highest regarded Sorcerers in our history." The ivory haired Sorcerer answered, with a proud smile. "They rescued the Realm and gave it a clear sky as a sign of security. I've always wanted to do something like that… except for the dying part if possible."

"There are still patches of clear sky." Raven said.

"Yeah… there are… but…" Levous replied, setting Raven down against a street lamp. He stretched his arm out wide and closed his eyes. The wind began to pick up slightly, and with a full 360o spin, he heaved an invisible mass into the air, discernable only by the dispersing smoke it passed through. "This sky is much better." He said as he sat next to her on the ground.

By this point, Raven knew to wait patiently instead of asking what he had just done. She looked up and saw that the clouds were acting funny, swirling around in a spiral until an eye appeared. She heard Levous snap his fingers and suddenly the eye began to grow faster and faster as the clouds were pushed further towards the horizon. In less than a minute the sky was cleared of all clouds, replaced by the starry night sky.

"All clear." He whispered, reaching over and holding her hand. The street was dark, all the lights having been broken in the battle, and so as the moonlight filled the street, the shadow of from the lamp head itself covered Levous. He sat in the shadow, and found the irony almost laughable; not even the universe would grant him light after what he had done.

"You… you did what was necessary." Raven said, squeezing his hand. "I don't see you any differently."

His mismatched ashen and emerald eyes widened, he was hoping she hadn't seen that, his dark cruelty. "I tortured him… Do I really deserve forgiveness?"

"Do I?" The violet haired half demoness asked. "He was right. I'm part Demon, daughter of the greatest evil in this world. Evil is in my blood."

"You're wrong." Levous replied. "You're a descendant of Faust. That doesn't make you evil, just a little rebellious."

"Faust? The one from your…" She gasped for a moment, in the craziness that had happened today, she hadn't had a chance to tell him she saw his memories.

"So you did see them."

"I'm sorry… I never thought that…"

"It's okay, I don't mind… as long as it's with you…" That last part was a whisper, one Raven barely heard, but they both had crimson cheeks from it.

"I'm sorry about your parents Levous." She said finally after a few moments of silence.

"I'm proud to be their son."

"The lanterns you made… what where they?"

"Another custom in my world. You send a lantern to light the way back for someone who's lost." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the sword hilt, handing it to Raven. "That is probably the oldest artifact I own. It belonged to Faust, the first Demon."

"First Demon? But the story your mother told." Raven replied in reasonable surprise.

"There is fact to the story, actually that is the version preferred by outlaws and Sorcerers… but since when did those foolish Gods ever tell the truth." He replied with a small grin. "They make themselves to be more heroic, but no, with the Demons gone but the Legion still a threat, my guess is the First Order of the Gods changed a few of the facts to explain when such an army of chaotic creatures came from. I heard the true story from Aerlion. Apparently Faust belonged to a race very similar to humans, but it had been so long he couldn't remember the name. Back then it was only the Dragons and Celestials who ruled, but the Dragons always took a more passive approach, wanting to let things develop on their own. The Celestials were different, as they tried to spread their moral Order to all species, which soon became subjugation. Years passed, and the Celestials ruled supreme over the world, but there were some, like Faust's family that wished for freedom and opposed them. Eventually his family was found and killed, and the Celestial Julian tasked to kill them curse Faust with an encroaching fire in his right hand, and ice on his left. Fire would spread as he grew as would the ice, freezing him set blaze for eternity. Faust grew up with a want for vengeance, and though he did many bad deeds, his true goal was to crush the Celestials." He paused for a second and looked to the hilt Raven was holding. "He had that crafted for the sole purpose of getting his revenge."

"How does it work?" She asked, looking at the artifact of her ancestor.

"Point where the blade would be away from you." He instructed, and she followed. "Now think of Trigon."

Her eyes narrowed, and the image of her detested father flashed in her mind. All that he had done to her, her friends, everything came rushing over her as she tightened her grip on the sword handle. Suddenly a burst of black flames sprang from the guard, stretching high into the sky, followed by a sheen of frost, solidifying a blade. Though she had seen the visions of him using it, this still surprised Raven, and she released her grasp on the sword, the blade melting away instantly. "How did it… it just shot out and…"

"The flames of vengeance frozen by the want for revenge." Levous replied. "That is what that sword represents. It's useless against someone who hasn't wronged you." He picked up the artifact and put it back in his pocket. "Faust later rescued a girl who was to be executed for opposing the Celestials, but in truth the Celestials feared her."

"Magi?"

"Yes. She was magic personified, but she didn't know how to use her power. Still she stayed by Faust's side through all his battles, and was there when he fought Julian. In the end though, Faust did strike down Magi and gained her power, transforming himself into the first being other than a Dragon able to fight on par with a Celestial."

"He killed Magi? So he was evil." Raven pointed out, regardless of the facts, it was nice to hear her origins.

"No, not evil. Magi asked him to, so she could give him her power. Faust agreed with some of the things the Celestials were saying, and regretted having to kill those in his way, but he merely wanted to change the world. In fact, few Demons, Scath included, actually used their power for their own gain and were abandoned midway through the war. Faust and the Demons loyal to him left the material plane, so the Demons that remained created the Legion of Darkness to aid in their fight."

"Then why did Faust get blamed for that?"

"Because all the Demons came from Faust. They were all part of his soul. The point is that a Demons nature is their own to decide." He said standing and picking her up. "Chaos and Order are neither good nor evil, the ones enforcing it are." Levous began walking down the street further, smoothly moving through the rough terrain. "You're not evil."

It was hard for her to process at first. "I'm… not evil?" All she had known was that she was the daughter of pure evil, her biggest fear being that eventually she may become like Trigon and hurt her friends. "I'm… not… just trying to fool myself?" But gradually, she was able to grasp the concept. "I… I'm not evil." She whispered, tears of relief forming in her eyes. "I won't end up like him. I'll be fine."

"Yup, you're going to be fine." Levous reassured her, holding her closer. A pair of headlights appeared ahead on the road, followed by a single headlight. "Not that there was any doubt in my mind to begin with." He chuckled as red blurs shot up from both the car and motorcycle that were now in view.

"Raven!" Starfire's joyful cry rang through the street as the Tamaranean princess and visiting Amazon descended from the sky. "Oh thank X'Hal you are safe!"

"I think it's Levous we should be thanking." Wonder Girl corrected as they both landed.

"No…" He replied, setting Raven down so she could stand. "She is still pretty badly…" He, however, was cut short as the vice grips of Starfire's hug caught him, and being unable to restrain her joy nearly crushed him to death.

"Oh yes! Thank you friend Levous for rescuing Raven!" The Tamaranean powerhouse squealed.

"Uh, are you thanking him or killing him Star?" Raven asked, noting the bright blue he was turning and for a person who doesn't have to breathe to live, that was quite the feat.

"Raven! Are you okay?" Beast boy asked from the T-car, transforming into a cheetah and running up to her.

"A few cuts, but I'm fine." She replied, but clutching her robe shut. It didn't bother her as much with Levous, but her leotard was barely holding together.

"And Slade?" Robin asked, pulling up on the R-cycle.

"He got away somehow…" Levous said bitterly, having somehow escaped Starfire's death hug.

"Did you restrain him?" Robin asked, wondering what might have happened.

"He wasn't in any shape to get up and walk away." He replied.

"Don't let it get ta ya man." Cyborg said, getting out of the T-car.

"You kick his butt at least, right?" Jinx asked, appearing through the sunroof.

"With any luck, he'll never want to cross me again." Levous replied, as a dangerous gleam crossed his eyes. To the rest of the Titans, it was a little unnerving.

"You got him already Levous." Raven said resting a hand on his should in an attempt to calm him a bit. "Please don't carry that anger within you."

He looked at her, staring deep into her big, beautiful, lavender eyes. She was concerned he might change, she was afraid he might do something he'd regret later, and her eye told him in a way no words could. He took a deep breath, calming himself as he reached up and placed his hand on hers.

"You're right." He said, smiling.

"I do believe we just witnessed a tender moment." Kid Flash joked, appearing next to Jinx with a grin.

"Okay, that's it." Raven growled, throwing up her hands as they sheathed themselves in obsidian light. "Which dimension would you like?" She immediately stopped when she saw the other's shocked faces.

"That bastard did that to you?" Jinx asked, looking at all the cuts still in Raven's flesh, and the many more in her leotard where wounds probably were.

Raven quickly closed her robe, embarrassed she had exposed it to everyone.

"I know how Slade operates." Robin said, turning quickly to Levous. "He showed you this before you got to the stadium, didn't he?"

"Yes." The white haired sorcerer replied.

"Is he still alive?"

"Yes… but probably not for much longer."

Author's Notes: And so marks the end of another chapter, I hope it met with everyone's expectations. Please direct any and all criticism to the review board, I promise that I do in fact read them all and take all suggestions into consideration.

Until next time.