A tense moment passed, then another. Raven's lavender eyes searched those of her friends, and in the diverse mixture of gazes—blue and green, masked and mechanical—that returned her own, she saw the fear they felt at the possibility of losing her.

Raven bowed her head in submission. She never wanted to hurt her friends, and she had never before realized how much her death would wound them.

Relief replaced the fear in the eyes of the other Titans. Raven forced herself to stand and turned to face Rage. Raising her arm, palm out, towards the cage of her energy, Raven chanted, "Sohtniz Noirtem Htareza."

The cage disappeared, and Rage smiled in triumph. The small crimson-cloaked figure began to grow in size until it towered over them. Shoulder-length white hair was blown back by a strong wind. Four glowing yellow eyes looked down at them.

Trigon reached with surprising speed and seized Raven in a crushing grip. "You will obey me, daughter," he spat the last word out as if it were poison.

"Titans, go!" Robin cried, tossing several freeze-disks at the demon.

Trigon knocked them aside with a mere sweep of his free hand.

Cyborg fired his sonic cannon, but, unlike the first time, Trigon did not even blink.

The combined forces of Starfire's bolts and Terra's boulders were enough to cause a distraction, however. With her father's attention away from her, Raven was able to chant "Azerath Metrion Zinthos," and turn into ungraspable vapor and slip from Trigon's clutches.

She rematerialized next to her friends just in time to put a shield up against the quadruple blasts of yellow power that fired from Trigon's eyes.

The black shield flickered and dissipated after the onslaught, and the Titans then fled for cover.

"I need you guys to cover me. I'm going to call my emotions to help," Raven said, looking pale but determined.

"I dunno, Rae," Cyborg said. "You're emotions weren't looking to good when we saw 'em."

"We can't beat Trigon without them," Raven insisted, cutting off further protests.

"We got your back, Rae," Beast Boy said, changing into a large green bird.

"Raven," the voice of her father called wickedly. "You may as well surrender now. I will find you, and you will obey me, or die."

The rocks shielding them from Trigon's sight suddenly exploded into a hailstorm of gravel.

"All right, Titans! Let's get him!" Robin called, and they split up. Beast Boy and Starfire attacked from the air as Cyborg and Robin assailed Trigon from the ground. Terra stood at a distance throwing large pieces of earth.

After checking to assure herself that her friends were not in any immediate danger, Raven closed her eyes and brought each thumb and forefinger together to form a circle. As she chanted indistinguishable words under her breath, her emotions appeared around her in a rainbow of colors—green, yellow, pink, orange, purple, and gray.

Raven, her forehead beaded with sweat, opened her eyes to met those of her emotions. All appeared sick and exhausted.

"Once more," Raven promised them quietly.

Her emotions nodded in unison. Raven again closed her eyes, and when they opened, they glowed a fierce, pure white.

Raven levitated in the air, followed by her emotions, who then began to circle around her, speeding up until it became impossible to discern one from the other.

A flash of white light momentarily caused everyone to freeze, turning to find a white-shrouded Raven watching them with glowing eyes.

"You think you can defeat me as you did the last time we fought?" Trigon asked her in mocking disbelief.

Raven did not answer, only levitated upward until she was eye level with her father.

He growled at her. "When I speak to you, you will answer me, you little mongrel!"

His hand moved faster than she expected, and she was knocked vehemently to the ground. Her head hit against a rock, and she did not get up.

The Titans stared in disbelieving horror at their friend as a trickle of blood began to run down from behind her head, staining the white cloak a bloody crimson.

Anger like they had never felt before caused the Titans to charge carelessly into battle.

Raven felt the trickle of warm blood on the back of her head run down her neck. She forced herself to lie still, trusting her powers to tell her what her eyes could not.

She knew her friends were charging recklessly into a dangerous battle they had no understanding of, but they could still help her defeat her father, though she hated putting them at such risk.

She could also ascertain that her father was gathering his energy for a final, deadly assault. Raven began to gather her energy in response.

"Aim for his heart!" Robin commanded, as they all trained their weapons at the demon's chest.

"As if he has one," Beast Boy muttered, surprisingly serious.

The standing Titans aimed, and Trigon began to raise his hands to blast away his daughter's comrades.

But he never did.

Black and white energy surrounded Trigon, trapping his arms against his body just long enough for the other Titans to make their attack.

Hit with blue and green blasts, Bird-a-rangs and rocks, Trigon was knocked back, where he tripped over a large green turtle, and fell hard on his back.

Raven approached her father, slightly unsteady on her feet; the bloodstain on the back of her white cloak strangely resembling a phoenix.

Black power locked Trigon's hands and ankles to the ground.

"Misbegotten brat! You cannot hold me here for long!"

"I know, father," Raven replied, surprising little malice in her voice.

Her eyes glowed black. "Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted, her voice quiet yet full of raw power. "Abeo."

For the first time in her life, Raven saw fear enter her father's eyes, but immeasurable hatred soon replaced the feeling. "You will regret this. One day, you will pay," he said in a deadly quiet voice that was even more frightening in its calm. That was last that Trigon spoke, as his body was consumed in raven-colored energy, and vanished as if into thin air.

"Perhaps, father," Raven finally said, unmoved by her father's final proclamation. Another flash of light, and Raven stood in her usual midnight blue cloak.

"Raven!"

Her friends, finally free of their shock at what had transpired, were at her side immediately. Raven gave them a small smile. "Thank you," she said.

"Anytime, Rae," Cyborg said.

"Yeah, we are always here if you need us," Robin added.

"Hey, we're just glad you're okay," Beast Boy said. "We thought you might be dead."

Raven shook her head. "I told you before, if I died while you were here, you would perish. The fact that nothing happened should have been the first sign that I wasn't dead."

"Oh, right."

Raven hesitated a moment, but then gently laid a comforting hand and Beast Boy's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Thanks for caring," she said in a voice so soft that no one else heard.

"Yes, Friend Raven. We are most happy that you are still alive," Starfire said cheerfully.

"So, Rae, how do we get out of here?" Terra asked.

Raven nodded her agreement that the time had come for them to leave. "This way," she said in her customary monotonous voice, and started walking. She led them to yet another stone archway.

Turning to look at her friends again, she gave them one last smile. "See you on the other side," she said before stepping through and disappearing.

The others followed suite.

Beast Boy, Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, and Terra landed in an uncomfortable pile in Raven's bedroom.

With many groans and complaints, they finally sorted themselves out. And they finally noticed that Raven wasn't with them.

"She must still be at the hospital," Robin concluded.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Beast Boy declared, running for the front door, the others directly behind him.

When the Changeling opened the door, he abruptly stopped, which resulted in the others crashing into him.

"Hey, man! What'd you stop for?" Cyborg demanded.

"He stopped so he would not run into me, I believe," Raven said, standing above the pile of Titans.

"Raven!" Starfire and Terra cried together, jumping up and hugging their friend.

The guys stood as well, relieved that, though still pale and thin, Raven looked noticeably better.

"Welcome back, Rae."

)( )( )( )( )( )(

A/N: In case anyone wants to know, Raven's chant "Sohtniz Noirtem Htareza" is simply "Azerath Metrion Zinthos" backward, and "Abeo" is Latin for "to digress; change; vanish, disappear."

To my reviewers:

Arrendi: Better ending this time? I hope you're still enjoying the story, for the end is near.

alibi girl: Sorry for the wait, I hope it was worth it!

Defafaeth Mechqua: I'm going to guess that means you like it. lol. Thanks for the review!

cool(): I'm glad you think so. Hope you liked this chapter, too!MirandaOtto: Thank you for the review! I hope your reunion goes okay.Orion Kohaishu: I think Rage does need a hug. My best wishes go to whoever attempts to give her one though. Good luck with the hw!Ravenn03: Thanks for the suggestion, but that didn't exactly work with my plotline. Thanks a lot for the compliments!Aya Sadaka(): Totally agree with you about endings. I can't wait to read your stories! I hope I make it home in time for the TT premiere… Anywho, I'm glad you've got your cupcake! Thank you for the review!!Eilian Rhoss: Thank you Thank you! I hope you like it!Violett Witch(): Thank you very much! (Love your penname by the way!)