Disclaimer: Still don't own Teen Titans.

A/N: This chapter contains more than a few explanations so hopefully everything'll be cleared up, or at least, as cleared up as the characters can presently make it. (They may or may not be mistaken about a few things.) And, since in my opinion, this chapter isn't incredibly interesting, there'll probably be an update tomorrow as well.

Thanks again for the reviews, you guys are awesome, and some of you even figured out what's going on. To explain the random poll, it's just a question that I have for you guys. In most cases, it won't really effect what I already have planned, it's more of just a shameless attempt to get input about some aspect of the story.

Random Poll: Are the Demon Hunters trying to trick the Teen Titans?

If you don't have a screen name ready, you can just put your answer as the name (either Yes or No.)

Demon Hunters

Chapter 16: An Uneasy Truce

Raven knew she should feel a fiery pang of anger at seeing her former captors. She knew she should, but she didn't feel anything, except distrust. Even then, without anger it was hard to hold her suspicion of them too strongly; their appearances were drastically altered.

Solaris's clothing was still bright flame-colors and combat-ready, but her demeanor was different. Her arrogant swaggering attitude was gone, replaced by weary submission. Her complete confidence had been exchanged for uncertainty that hung over her like a cloud.

Lunis still wore her silver silk gown, but instead of appearing delicate and lethal, she seemed thin and worn. Her eyes were red from crying and her hair was sharply pulled back instead of the elaborate curls she usually wore.

Raven could accept that something was wrong, but she wasn't ready to trust them, not by a long shot. She reached out for her powers, just in case she needed to use them… and found nothing.

She gasped. "Robin, my powers are… gone." She cursed herself for not checking her powers sooner. How long had she been powerless? Since she came back? Since the sisters arrived?

Robin turned to the two sisters. "What did you do to her?"

They exchanged uncomfortable glances before Solaris sighed and explained, "Pax did it. He slew her demon side. Or at least he tried to."

"What do you mean?" Raven demanded. "He stabbed me through the heart."

"There's an ancient protection on the Blade of the Pure. No demon may use it. Can't you see how coveted it would be if demons could use it against one another?" Solaris asked.

From the blank looks she received, it wasn't as apparent as she assumed it was.

Lunis took over. "Demons have battles for supremacy, just as humans do. These battles can be as simple as two demons fighting each other for a dwelling, or as large as a war between two different sects. Different demons are killed in different ways; they have different weaknesses. But the Blade of the Pure is an absolute. It will kill any demon. So, to prevent the demons from trying to grab it so they can use it against each other, no one with demon blood may wield it."

"What does this have to do with Pax trying to kill me?" Raven asked, trying to shake the image of Pax from her mind. She couldn't forget the last time she had seen him, when his face had looked so pale, when she had been so certain that he was dead.

Lunis hesitated, then sighed. "Pax is half demon."

"But he is your brother!" Starfire protested. "And you are hunters of demons… surely I am… missing something?"

"Our mother was tricked by a demon, she fell into a terrible trap," Solaris explained darkly.

Raven gave her a dour look. "You mean love."

"She would never love a demon, not after one killed our father."

Lunis rested a hand on Solaris's shoulder. "At any rate, Pax was born half-demon, but we kept his heritage from him. Mother died when he was born."

Robin nodded thoughtfully. "So Pax has been hunting his own kind without even knowing it."

"Yes. His only demonic trait is his empathy and he thinks that's normal enough because he doesn't know my telepathy is given to me by the Immortal Blade. It steals the demons' powers and gives them to me,"

"If we're going to help you, you need to tell us everything," Robin said gruffly, not at all liking the way these new facts continued to surface.

With a glance at Solaris, Lunis nodded. "Alright. Everything. There are three swords, given to us by our father. He used all three in the hunting and slaying of demons. When he was slain, Lunis and I took up the hunt."

"I took the Blade of the Pure," Solaris said, "Which can slay any demon."

"And I took the Soul Sword and the Immortal Blade," Lunis added, holding up the two swords. "But the more I used the Immortal Blade, the stronger I became. I could use demonic power as a weapon to track down their kind, even use telepathy. When Pax was born, we decided to give him the Soul Sword so he could join us in the hunt."

From where she was sitting at the breakfast table, Raven cleared her throat. "Do you really expect us to believe that you just automatically accepted him as one of your own?"

"No," Solaris sneered with a menacing pause, and Raven got the distinct impression that the Hunter had just stopped herself from adding 'demon' to the answer. "It was a difficult decision."

"In the end, we couldn't do it," Lunis said quietly. "We knew we should have, but we couldn't; he was our brother. If the Immortal Blade can steal demonic power and let me use it for good, then why can a Hunter take a demon and use him for a just cause? We made a vow that should he ever turn against us, we would slay him without hesitation, but until now, he was able to help in the hunt without mercy, without any compassion for his kindred."

"Was?" Raven asked, assuming they would go on to explain about their brother's unfortunate demise.

"He seemed to be unable to bring about your demise," Solaris said, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"Robin, we can't trust them," Beast Boy said in a low voice. "We know they're after Raven. It's got to be a trick."

Lunis fixed her wide, silver eyes on Raven. "Your friend is no longer a demon."

"My powers?" Raven asked. "Now that they're gone, you're ready to accept me?"

"It's more than that. Your emotions are what made you dangerous, Raven. They were tied to your demonic powers. With both, you were a dangerous unknown; it was just a matter of time until you lost control. Without either, you're just like any other human we fight to protect."

Raven felt cold. "How did you know about that?" she asked, even though she had a feeling there was very little she could keep from those large, silver eyes. "How did you know my emotions are gone?"

"I told you, I have demonic power flowing through me. Now that your powers are gone, all the walls that you formerly used to keep me out are gone as well. I could sift through your memories with a thought-"

Beast Boy shifted where he was standing, drawing her attention to his fierce glare.

"But of course, what sort of an alliance would that build?" Lunis said quickly, a slight blush creeping across her face. "What I mean to say is, your thoughts are nearly impossible not to hear, right now, and losing your emotions happens to be on the forefront of those thoughts."

"So what are you getting at?" Robin asked, still playing the role of negotiator for his team.

"We need your help. From what I have seen in your minds, I am nearly certain that you would help without any sort of incentive, simply because if you do not, innocent people will die. But, should you need persuading, we can offer you something in return," Lunis said, looking meaningfully at Raven.

"What can you offer?" Robin prompted.

"The Immortal Blade will steal a demon's powers, particularly immortality, and it can bestow those powers on me," Lunis explained. "And…" She hesitated uncertainly, but then plunged ahead anyway. "And if you want, I think I can use it to give you some demonic power."

"My powers?" Raven asked.

"Well, another demon's. But it would be the same type of powers. I think. When Pax tried to kill you, he didn't use the Immortal Blade first, so the capacity for demonic power is still within you. You just need to be… recharged."

"But you hunted me down because I had demonic power," Raven pointed out.

"Because you couldn't control it," Lunis clarified. "Now that your emotions are gone, you'd have complete control. Theoretically."

"How exactly is all this working?" Raven demanded, eyes narrow.

Lunis looked uncomfortable. "We don't exactly know. We don't know what Pax did, or how the swords reacted. All we know is that right now, there's not so much as a demonic trace on you. Pax tried to slay your demon half, and he should have. But he's a half-demon too, and that…" Lunis shrugged helplessly. "That's never really come up before. You should still have your demonic half, since Pax shouldn't be able to use the Blade of the Pure. And you should still have your powers, since he didn't use the Immortal Blade."

"But?" Raven asked in a tired tone, not really sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"You don't have any power; you don't have any demonic traces; and apparently you don't have any emotions either. It's possible that your demonic side was too closely tied to your emotions. If we had all of the swords-"

"What?" Robin asked sharply. "I said no more surprises."

Lunis winced. "There's a lot of information to relate, and there is much that we are less than certain of."

"Something about this is less than reassuring," Raven remarked dryly.

"Well, like it or not, it's necessary. As we said, we need your help with a hunt. Some demonic force has possessed our brother," Solaris said. "And we believe it is your father."