1Chapter Three: Rasemune

Raven watched from a corner as her brother walked among the injured, kneeling down by some and whispering to them. Sometimes they whispered back. Other times they simply nodded. Finally, he walked out of the room.

"How bad is it?" Raven asked.

"All of the ones here should live. Frista is very good at this, even if she is only fourteen. Her and the others, they do their jobs well."

"How many did you lose?"

"... Fifty fell in the initial attack. Another thirty died holding the demons off so the rest of us could escape. A great number died of their wounds before we got here. In all, two thirds of us are dead."

"My God... So many people..."

Einderan walked a few steps down the corridor, then slammed his fist into the wall. His hand was covered in a black aura, and the wall cracked heavily under the blow.

"They trusted me. They believed I would lead them to the liberation of their homes. And I failed them..."

"Einderan..." Raven said, trying to sound soothing, but couldn't find the words to follow it.

"No one thinks that sir."

Both of them turned to see Frista approaching. She stopped beside Raven, "No one thinks that you failed anyone. You fought as hard and bravely as any of us. They caught all of us off guard, not just you. We weren't celebrating because of any arrogance from you, but because we needed to know that we could and still can win. You betrayed no one's trust."

"I should have seen that attack coming. I allowed us to open our gates wide for the enemy."

"We should have seen that attack coming. We allowed ourselves to open our gates wide for the enemy. This isn't your fault sir. If you wish to blame someone blame Trigon, he is the one who is doing this. This is his fault."

"Maybe. But why do I feel like I could've done more?" Einderan asked himself, sighing. He teleported somewhere else.

Raven turned to Frista, "He seems so different..."

"He was happy to have us safe earlier. Now he thinks that it's his fault for not anticipating the attack."

Frista then thought about and looked at the blue cloaked sorceress, "Raven?"

It hit Raven at that same time. She looked at the girl in light gray, "Frista?"

They smiled at each other. Frista hugged Raven, "I didn't recognize you!"

"I didn't recognize you either." Raven replied, taking a step back, "My brother said Frista, but I didn't think it was you."

"It's good to see you Raven."

This troubled Raven, "Y-you are? Even after..."

"Trigon?"

Raven nodded sadly.

"It's not your fault. You have no control over who you're father is. We were friends when we were little, we are friends now. Right?"

"Frista... Thank you."

"I've done nothing. Come on, I'm done with my shift."

They walked together, then teleported to the living area of the Tower, which had been converted into a sort of cafeteria. They walked up to the counter, and Raven poured them both a cup of herbal tea. They sat down on the couch, sipping their drinks.

"So... What happened after I left?"

Frista looked down into the swirling liquid in her cup, "Azarath was razed to the ground. And in the middle of it all stood Trigon, laughing. It..."

She broke off for a minute to get her emotions in check, "It wasn't good for us. Any of us, men, women, children, the elders... It didn't matter. The demons started rounding us up. I was scared." She took another sip of her drink, "Everyone was scared. Then we saw something to give us hope again."

"What?"

"Einderan." Frista told her, sparkles in her emerald eyes, "I won't ever forget it. A sheer wave of energy slamming into Trigon, then Einderan flying above the city, firing magic and flinging rubble at the evil demon. It was the most heroic and selfless thing I've ever seen..."

Raven was a little surprised by the slight dreaminess in her voice, "Do you, like my brother?"

"No."

Both of their cups exploded, raining herbal tea on them. Luckily it had cooled down. Raven stared at her with unbelieving eyes.

"Uh, maybe."

"Uh-huh. I think I'll go tell him."

"NO!"

The table by the couch levitated in the air, did a 1420, then slammed back into the ground. Raven smiled. Nothing blew up.

"I think I will..."

"Please, don't tell him!"

They both began laughing after a few minutes. Starfire, wary of the odd flying/exploding object, levitated over to them, "Please, what is the source of your merriment?"

Raven stopped laughing and suppressed it to a smile, "Starfire, this is Frista, a friend from my childhood on Azarath. Frista, this is-"

"I am Starfire!" The alien princess declared, giving Frista a bone crushing Tameranian hug, "I am glad to meet you my new friend!"

Frista started twitching, so Raven said for her, "Starfire, suffocating."

"Oh." She released Frista, who started gasping for air, "Sorry."

Frista smiled weakly, "You are very strong."

"Yes, I have been told that before. I am sometimes over eager when greeting my friends."

"It's alright. I probably blew something up when I realized who Raven was."

"So, you're powers are like Raven's?"

"Yes. Though I am more of a healer."

"But her powers come from her emotions. She has a crush on my brother."

"I do not!"

Starfire caught the remote as it flew by her head, smiling devilishly, "If my experiences with Raven are correct, it appears you do."

The three started talking, Raven and Frista taking turns keeping the other from blowing something up. They soon were giggling and laughing like a group of, well, teenage girls. Mostly Starfire though. Still, the alien princess was glad to finally start to see around Raven's shroud of mystery.

Einderan stood in a corner, watching. He was glad that his sister was happy.

A few men were standing in a small group, talking. One of them started giving Raven very dirty looks. Finally, after a few minutes, he said, "I can't take this any more."

He walked over to Frista, Raven, and Starfire. He said, "Traitor."

They stopped and looked at him, "What?"

"Look at you Frista. You're talking to 'her'."

Starfire was confused, but Raven wasn't. She hung her head, knowing what was about to come.

"What's that supposed to mean Haejak?" Frista asked testily.

"You saw what happened to our home. You were there on Azarath. And yet you come and talk to her as if nothing happened!"

"Please, no mean talking. What is the source of this quarrel?" Starfire asked.

"Shut up girl, you have no place in this conversation. It's between me and the daughter of Trigon."

"Back off Haejak." Frista said. Her voice was cold and even.

"Now you're protecting her! Don't you get it? She is the reason that Azarath was attacked!"

"Trigon would have attacked us either way, there was no stopping it."

"How do you know that? For all we know if we had killed her when we had the chance Azarath would still be a free city!"

Robin and Beast Boy had walked into the room, and heard the argument. Robin readied his exploding disks, but played it cool and acted like nothing was wrong. Beast Boy just watched with his arms crossed.

"And for all we know we could be in this same situation with innocent blood on our hands!"

"I doubt that some one with half the blood in their body coming from Trigon the Terrible counts as innocent."

Starfire felt her anger building. Robin felt it to, as did Einderan and Frista. However, it was none of them that spoke, "Leave her alone!"

Haejak turned to see Beast Boy glaring at him, "Stay out of this."

"You back off Raven! She's our friend! My friend! And I don't sit by and let people talk like that to my friends!"

"You have a very bad choice of friends green one. Now run along and do whatever it is you people do on this planet."

Beast Boy was almost ready to maul the man, when he saw a motion from Einderan to stop. The tall brother of Raven started forward, hood covering his face.

"Beast Boy..." Raven said, shocked at the green changeling's outburst.

Haejak turned back to Raven, "Look at him. He's your friend right? Guess what daughter of Trigon, you're the reason he's going to die. You brought about the end of Azarath. You will bring about the end of this world as well."

Raven started to shake in her effort to keep her emotions controlled. Einderan said in a low voice that would have frozen a raging inferno, "Haejak..."

The man turned to Einderan, then glared back at Raven. He hissed one word venomously, "Rasemune."

Raven couldn't hold it in any more. Her emotions were to strong. However, rage wasn't the strongest. She put her face in her hands and ran, tears flowing down her face. She teleported away, Frista close behind, "Raven, wait!"

Einderan was on Haejak in a second, pinning him to the ground, "Why did you say that?"

"It's the truth!"

"Truth? Truth? What do you know of truth? You make it sound as if she wanted to bring about the end of Azarath!"

"Maybe she did."

It was all Einderan could do to keep from crushing this man. He said in a whisper, "You said she was impure. The same blood flows in my veins Heajak. You say that she wanted to destroy Azarath. She lost her mother. Same as you. And she is tormented by all of the dead already, she doesn't need you reminding her. But she can't help what she is. And hear me when I say, Trigon would not be stopped by something so mere as killing her. If you had killed her, the only thing you would have done was anger Trigon, so when his armies invaded they would have slaughtered every last Azarathian. Do you understand? She lost everything you lost, and now you're telling her that it was all her fault. You sound like a child trying to find someone else to blame." Einderan released him, "Think about that. Oh, and if you ever, ever talk to my sister like that again, I'll flatten you. Get out of my sight."

Then man needed no second bidding. He ran from the room so fast it was like he had just dissapeared. Einderan stood, and began to form a portal to go after Raven.

But before he did, Robin asked him something, "That word, the one that they call Raven, Rasemune, what does it mean?"

Einderan turned halfway, before stating flatly, "Rasemune... Hell Bringer."

With that he walked through the portal, leaving the room in stunned silence.

SOME REMOTE AREA OUTSIDE OF JUMP CITY

Frista looked beside her as Einderan appeared, "She's over there, but I can't get close to her."

"Thank you. I'll talk to her, she can't hurt me."

Einderan walked over a small hill, and saw a whirlwind of debris and black energy. He walked forward into the maelstrom, using his powers to stop anything that would have hit him. After some walking, he found himself in the center of the storm. Raven was on her knees, crying. For a moment in time, it was just the two of them.

"Raven..."

"He's right. I destroyed Azarath. Now I'm going to destroy Earth."

"No you-"

"Don't try and lie to me! Don't try and make me feel better! I've lied to myself long enough! I'm the reason all of this has happened. I'm the reason that all of Azarath... And now Earth... Sometimes I think it would have been better if I hadn't been born. If I climb to the top of the tower and jump, or take a dagger and slit my wrists. Or a gun..."

Einderan had heard quite enough of that. He walked over, put a hand forcibly under her chin, raised her face to look at him, and hit her.

She was sprawled across the ground by the blow. As she began to gather herself back up, he told her, "I never want to hear you talk like that again. Your words are cowardly, running away from the problem at hand."

"I'd rather die than be responsible for the destruction of another world."

"Fool! You selfish fool! You speak as if you're actions are brave! You're running away from father, running away from you're guilt! You're running away! You aren't a child anymore, it's not ok to run away."

"R-running away?"

"Giving your life, that is honorable and brave. Dying to protect your friends and family. But you aren't talking about giving your life. You're talking about throwing it away! Abandoning everything you know when you are needed most!"

Einderan went down on one knee, and put a hand on each of her shoulders, "I would give anything to have what you have Raven. Don't you see? You have a power that Trigon can't fathom and could never hope to match."

"What power? The power to destroy? To bring death to everything and everyone I hold dear?"

He shook his head, "You're blind to it sister. Look around you, don't you see? You have friends, friends you can trust with you heart and life to never betray you. I would give anything for that."

"You have friends though."

"People follow me, accept me, because I say I will help them liberate their world. They trust me because I say that I will lead them to freedom. But you Raven, don't you see how blessed you are?"

She shook her head slowly. She had stopped crying.

"You Raven, have friends that hold you dear in their hearts, because of who you are. They love you, and accept you, even when doing so could mean the end of their world. When it has meant the end of their world. They are willing to follow you, to help you, even when the odds of success are slim and none. And they will always be there, up until the end, whichever it is, even though by choosing you they threaten everything they know. They choose you, quite possibly over their homes, families, even their lives. Do you get it? Do you understand? You have power, a power I could never hope to match, power I could never even hope to grasp."

"Einderan..."

"Your fate is your own Raven. Prophecies tell what might happen, what are likely to happen, not what will happen. You, you have the power inside to change your fate. But if you throw your life away now, then not only this world, but every world, and this universe itself has no hope. Trigon will conquer it, and cover this place in a dark shroud of evil until the very end of time. This is bigger than Azarath or Earth, this is the fate of every living thing in this universe. All of this depends on what you choose Raven. How you choose to use your power."

She threw herself against Einderan, wrapping her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder's comfortingly, "I'm scared Einderan. What if I choose wrong? What I don't make the right choice?"

"Then you can say that you tried. Raven, I know you're scared. We are all scared."

"You aren't."

"Yes I am."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Losing you." She looked up into his eyes, "I know that the blood that binds us isn't the best. But you are still my sister. And you are all the family I have left. You are my sister Raven, and I love you."

"I love you to Einderan." Raven stated. It was true.

Raven felt a sense of calm come over her. The storm of energy and objects subsided. Einderan stood up, "Do you understand now?"

"Yes."

"You know that I can not help you with this. Nothing beyond encouragement."

"I know. It is my prophecy, my fate. You cannot interfere it with."

"Right. I think we should head back now."

Raven smiled deviously, "Hey."

"What?"

"Want to race 'Indy'?"

Einderan froze, and he growled, "Don't call me that."

"Why not? 'Indy' is so much easier to say that Einderan."

"It was cute when you were five."

"How about this, we make a bet. Frista is still over there right?"

"I guess so."

"We race to her. If I win, I get to call you Indy."

"And if I win?"

"I don't know. Think of something."

"Alright, we have a deal. Tell me when to start."

"1, 2, 3, go!"

Einderan took off running, while Raven stood still and smirked. She opened a portal and stepped through it.

Frista looked up when Raven stepped through a portal, "Raven!"

Einderan ran over the hill, and stopped dead. He saw Raven smirking, "You cheated!"

"No I didn't. I said race, I never said what kind 'Indy'."

Einderan grimaced. He hated that name.

"Indy?" Frista said confused, "Who are you..." Then it hit her, "Einderan!"

"Yes?" He asked between gritted teeth.

Frista giggled, "Oh nothing Indy. Raven, should us and Indy go back to your home now?"

"Yes, me, you, and Indy should."

That was really beginning to grate on Einderan's nerves, "If anyone else calls me Indy I'm going to rip them apart and deposit the pieces in front of your door."

Frista was still giggling, "How did you end up with 'Indy'?"

"When I was little I could never say Einderan. It always came out End-ee-ran. Eventually I got frustrated with it and just started calling him Indy."

"It was cute when she was five but I really hate that name."

"Well come on Indy, we wouldn't want the others to get worried would we?"

Einderan mumbled something under his breath along the lines of 'I'm never going to live this down...'

123456789123456789123456789123456789

Heh, chapter three. Not much action, but lot's of character plot. Don't worry, things speed up again now.

And for all of you sick people out there, Raven and Einderan are brother and sister. They don't love each other like that.

By the way, how did you like Einderan's speech? Review and tell me!