Disclaimer: Still don't own Teen Titans.

A/N: This chapter isn't as boring as the title would imply.

Demon Hunters

Chapter 9: Waiting

-How long is this going to take?- Pax demanded in Lunis's mind.

-I don't know. It's hard to tell.-

-We shouldn't be keeping her alive this long.-

-We don't have much of a choice.-

-Of course we do. Just kill her now.-

Lunis raised her eyebrows, carefully keeping her eyes on her silk dress. –Oh? And why should we do that, when we know that if we have a little patience, we might be able to eradicate another one of their kind?-

-Because we don't really know that, or anything else, for that matter!-

Lunis winced for his benefit, a reminder to keep his mental voice down to a respectful level.

Pax took a deep breath to steady himself and continued in what he hoped was a more rational tone. -Of all the demon's we've dealt with, we've never gone into a situation with such a complete dearth of intel. You know that, you've seen my read-outs… or lack thereof.-

Lunis frowned.

Pax allowed himself a moment of triumph; she knew It was true. Wherever the Other existed, it was beyond his scanners. When he tried to take a reading on Raven, he got abnormal stats, but that was about it. –All we know is that she's powerful… or he is.-

-And that means they both must be destroyed,- Lunis concluded.

-We don't know anything about this Other. What if he doesn't manifest?-

-We know the girl seems to think of him as 'Trigon' or 'father.'-

-But that's about all we could get out of her mind. We're barely certain of his existence.-

-He must be protecting her memories, keeping us out.-

-Or maybe she's stronger than you think.-

Lunis frowned. -All the more reason to hold out for the demon that spawned her. He must be at least as powerful as she is.-

-No!- Pax slammed his fist on the table. –All the more reason to kill her now before she tricks us.-

-You know to watch for demon tricks,- Lunis replied archly. –We all do.-

-It's more than that… The Teen Titans might come for her.- He paced uneasily before the door to Raven's cell. –She's dangerous. She's a threat.-

-Oh? Or is she something more than all of that?- Lunis asked archly, and Pax felt his memories unfolding for her.

-Stop it.- He blocked her out, slamming a mental wall between them so quickly that Lunis actually took a step back.

-Watch it, little brother.- She rubbed her temple, her passive eyes locked on him. –You don't want to get caught in a demon trap. And there are some traps from which there is no escape.-

Pax shook his head as Lunis walked away. He was glad that he was the only empath of the family. Lunis might be able to rummage through his memories and jump into his mind, but she couldn't actually feel his emotions.

He paused before the cell's door, and then went in.

Immediately, he felt a stab of fear coming from the half-demon that was so powerful it nearly knocked him to his knees.

-You don't need to be afraid of me,- he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Her violet eyes snapped open, and he felt something else burning away the fear, running underneath it like a current of lava… Anger.

-You're going to kill me, aren't you? Why don't we just get it over with?-

-Trigon hasn't manifested yet.-

-You said you'd kill me anyway,- she reminded him. –What are you waiting for?-

A normal prisoner would have begged for mercy, or at least taken this stay of execution without questioning it. But this girl…

-Maybe I'm just not normal,- Raven suggested dryly.

Pax tried to cover his surprise that she had heard his thoughts. –Why are you so eager for death?-

-I'm not.-

Without words, he saw that she was suspicious of them. –Why?-

-Honestly?- she asked, somewhat rhetorically; there were no secrets from him, if she told a lie, he'd simply reach into her mind to see the truth. -If you want me to cling to my life and be grateful for every little second, then, well, if I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather die without giving you the satisfaction.-

He stood near her, his face unusually close to hers. –Why are you so different, Raven?-

He felt memories opening up, centered on a strange green boy.

"You're so creepy, Raven."

"You're too dark."

"Don't you ever smile?"

The memories slammed shut like a book closing in his face. Pax winced slightly and wondered if that was how Lunis had felt. Unlike Lunis, he was an empath and he had more than seen the memories, he had felt a steady warmth of… love?

-Why are you so eager to kill me?- she asked. –I heard you talking in the hallway. Your sister seems to think it's worth the wait to try to draw Trigon out, but you seem intent on killing me as soon as possible.-

The fact that she had heard his private mental conversation with Lunis didn't come as too much of a surprise. Based on what had just happened, with her listening in on his thoughts, Pax was already beginning to understand that this girl's empathy was so strong that not only was it flickering back, despite the Soul Sword's dampening influence, but it also was so terrifyingly strong that it rivaled his own, and since he was also an empath, their minds were nearly diffusing into each other.

So it was for that reason that he tried not to think about the answer to her question. Instead, he replied, -It's a waste of time. If he was going to manifest, he would have done it already.-

She knew it was a lie, of course. Her skepticism radiated off of her like the glare from the noonday sun. Not that she didn't believe her father would have no qualms about throwing her to these Hunters, but because she could feel a lie in him as clearly as he could feel a lie in her.

She was getting too close. Pax pulled a small bottle out of his pocket. –Here. Drink this.-

-No thanks, I'm not thirsty,- she said loftily.

It was the truth, of course. One of the quirks of the Soul Sword was that it would freeze the demon's metabolism.

-Drink it anyway,- he said.

-What is it?- she demanded suspiciously.

-Poison.-

-Um. Then, I'm pretty sure I don't want to drink it,-

-It will force Trigon out. He'll know that you're dying.-

-That's really thoughtful, but all the same, no thanks.-

Pax uncapped the bottle and put it to her lips. She flinched away from it. He put the bottle to his own lips and poured the poison into his mouth. But he didn't swallow it. He cupped his hand around her chin and brought his face nearer to hers.

Raven's eyes went wide as his mouth pressed against hers. With his right hand, he grabbed the Soul Sword and twisted it. Raven screamed out in pain, and he pushed the poison into her mouth.

-Now swallow,- he commanded, his mouth still pressed against hers.

She tried to spit it out, but he wouldn't let her.

He gripped the Soul Sword again and felt a tremor of pain run through her. And then her agony hit him like a bullet train.

Why he hadn't felt it before, he could only attribute to the poison's dampening effect. While it had been in his mouth, his powers had been weakened. Now that it was gone, he felt every excruciating detail of her pain. His right shoulder burned with such intensity that he almost passed out.

He felt Raven go limp. He let go of the sword, tipped her head back, and watched her the poison drain down her throat. Then he backed away from her, gasping for breath as he fell to his knees.

Paxcaught his breath, his eyes never leaving the half-demon. He got to his feet and wiped any traces of the poison off his mouth. He pushed Raven's stray hair behind her ears, his hand lingering just a second too long on her skin. And then he calmly walked out of the room.