Disclaimer: Still don't own Teen Titans.

A/N: So, Demon Hunters is officially over half over, if that makes any sense. There will be 23 chapters in all, if all goes accordingly. I've really enjoyed writing this story so far, and I hope everyone has enjoyed reading it. This is a very short chapter; I thought about making it longer, but it would just be filler for the sake of making it longer… So anyway, Happy New Year! and I hope you enjoy this chapter enough to review (or... hate it enough to review....) The reviews so far have been great, and I've really enjoyed reading all of them. So, thanks again, and please keep reviewing.

Demon Hunters

Chapter 13: Redemption

Raven saw Pax careen into her cell, hands bleeding freely from deep wounds where he held a glowing sword.

-You have corrupted me,- he said, in a mental voice that shook.

-What?-

-I can no longer use the Blade of the Pure.-

-And you think this is my fault?-

-I am going to redeem myself.-

He staggered slowly over to her and looked into her eyes. –Was it all a lie, Raven?-

All of his defenses were down, and her own empathy, while still kept in check by the Soul Sword, was strong enough that his mind bled freely into her own. What she felt was more than confusion; his mind was in complete chaos.

-Trigon hasn't manifested yet,- she said reasonably, hoping that he was bluffing, that the blood on his hands wasn't real, that the wild look in his eyes wasn't insanity.

-It makes no difference. I must redeem myself. I am a Hunter, like my sisters and my father and his father. I live to destroy demons, to protect the innocent. The Blade of the Pure has always been the weapon of Hunters.-

But he was hesitating. There must be something there, Raven thought. She tentatively explored the swirling turmoil of his thoughts trying not to get caught up in any of the emotions that exploded through his thoughts.

-What's wrong,- she thought, more to herself than to him, but by this point their thoughts were so intertwined that he heard it as though she had shouted it in his ear.

-Was it all a lie?- he asked again, this time nearly screaming. He pushed her back against the wall, his face only inches from hers.

-Was what a lie?- she asked, trying not to cringe.

His eyes were wide and furious as he pressed the sword against her. -Tell me!-

She dove into his mind, searching frantically for what he was referring to. Almost at once, she found what he had hidden from her, what he was so confused about. Raven gulped.

-Did I trick you into… caring for me?-

He nodded dumbly, the sword nearly forgotten in his hands.

-No. There was no trick.-

Pax did not need to ask to know that she did not return his affection. But he also felt the absolute truth of what she said.

He backed up a few steps, the sword still in his hands.

Raven gasped in relief, realizing that she had been barely breathing.

-Then… then this is all my fault,- Pax thought.

Raven looked back up at Pax, uncertain of what he was thinking. She timidly tried to make sense of his thoughts, but too many contradictory emotions hit her at once.

Guilt. She is not to blame, only me. I am responsible; my fault; the Blade of the Pure turning against me. Anger. No! It was a demon trick, and it still is. Her fault, she's tricked me, can't trust her. Pain. Sisters were right, I've endangered them; always holding them back. Self-pity. Didn't have a choice, no chance, nothing I could have done.

But beneath this whirlwind of thoughts, there was a calm certainty that seemed to glow with a burning intensity.

Redemption.

Kill the girl.

They came upon the thought at the same time. Their eyes met; hers startled and his cold.

Pax stepped towards her and raised the sword.

Raven tried desperately to look brave, to summon the nonchalance that she had cultivated her entire, short life.

And then he drove the sword through her heart.

The Sword of the Pure shot a white electric burst of power through both of them, knocking Pax to the floor and flattening Raven against the wall she was already pinned to. The blast took Raven's breath away for a moment, but after a few agonizing seconds, she began breathing again. Pax did not.

Something, Raven supposed it was Anger, or perhaps her father, finally trying to do something, burst into life in her. She felt her eyes turn an unholy red as she gnashed her teeth and struggled to vent her destructive rage. She saw the boy lying on the floor, and some part of her recognized that he was dead.

A red demonic form in astral phase ghosted out of her chest and plunged into the boy. The Soul Sword seemed to pull itself out of her shoulder, or perhaps when Pax had twisted it in her shoulder so long ago, he had dislodged it from the wall enough so that this new development was enough to send it tumbling. It certainly felt as though the sword simply decided on its own to slide completely out of her shoulder. At any rate, it fell to the ground, and Raven was only a second behind it.

She lay on the cold ground, trying to move her weak limbs, her face only inches from the dead boy.

Her vision swam black and her eyes began to close…

Just as his eyes opened.