Two Halves

I don't own Teen Titans.

Chapter 13: Paths aren't always clear

The doors to the church swung open, letting in a gust of the cold night air as Raven walked into the building. Underneath her hood, her eyes scanned the area for danger. But all her vision was giving her was memories. This was the same place her mother had been when it happened: Arella became the carrier of Trigon's daughter. When Raven was born, she was given a prophecy that never really went the way it should have been. That was all thanks to her friends. Now she was she to protect them. , to save them from the demon. And it was in the same place where the darkness had begun.

(Promised I never would come back here,) she thought as she walked deeper into the cathedral, looking into the pews and at the front altar, imagining how her mother must have felt when she came here.

Just then, the doors swung behind her with a loud bang. She turned around and stared at her only way in and out. The creature was here, waiting for her to call for him. Or maybe he wasn't to strike her when her defense was down. Impossible to do as she her mind would intercept any disturbances. She was ready to kill this creature. She was going to save her friends, and most of all…seek forgiveness for not telling him how she felt. She left Beast Boy there without an answer, and after that kiss. That was so wonderful. The love-

"Hello. My dear," the demon replied from behind her.

She turned around and there was the demon, dressed in his black robe with his four arms, grey skin, and that face it that hideous grin frozen on his face. But, there was a new addition to his face. Of his four red eyes, only three were glowing. The top left one was nothing more then an empty socket.

Smiling, Raven stated," I see BB's wound still remains."

"He got me while my new strength was forming. Didn't have enough time to reform the wound and thus resulted in regeneration becoming lost in the process. No matter, I'll get him soon enough," he replied.

"You were planning on me to heal him then?"

"Of course. A greater torture is seeing the one's you care for suffer. Tell me, how was his reaction?"

"Let's just get started so I can save my friends," Raven stated.

"I really like your look. Something new?" the demon asked

"This is how I am now. I am not the same."

"To be frank, you still are the daughter of Trigon."

"I will never carry such a title anymore. Let's end this."

"It's only two hours till they pass on. We should talk. I mean, after all, BB should be here soon."

"He's isn't coming."

"Really? You think that can stop him. He promised he would protect you. After all, he cares about so much."

The kiss. You left him there with no answer. She looked away from him.

"By that response, I say you have some problems. Why not talk it out with your dear old uncle?"

Left him there. Added only more sadness to his heart.

"Come on? Can't we have a talk?" the demon asked as walked a few feet from the altar.

No answer, only a question. Did you even feel it? Did you even know the love that was there? Are you this cold?

Stopping, the demon then asked," Nothing? Oh well, when he comes, I'll just eat his heart while you watch."

Hitting home, she snapped her head back towards him and fired a black energy beam at the demon. It striked his chest, but it turned to smoke and evaporated into the air.

Laughing, the demon asked, "I told you: I have your energy aura in my body from being in your mind. Your black magic attacks have no effect on me."

"I will beat you! I shall not let anyone get harmed because of you!"

"Very well. You signed your death warrant. Let me carry it out!"

He then glided across the ground towards Raven quickly and sliced at her with one of his claws. She jumped away and managed to dodge the attack.

"Well, at least this gives me an excuse to use these," the demon said as he then stretched out his two lower arms. He opened his hands and suddenly, in a quick flash of red light, their appeared two swords. Their handles were black and the blades were silver.

"My swords, forged in the fires of Hell. The only things I could keep. At least they still work," he stated.

Suddenly, he swung one of the swords straight at Raven, who had barely any time to dodge. She cried out as he felt it clip at her arm. She looked down and saw a thin line of blood in a tear on her sleeve. She retaliated by delivering a flying kick to the things face. He caught her foot and threw her to the ground. Once she hit, he then brought his other sword down on her. She rolled out of the way and fired a black energy beam at him. But, just as the other one, it just dissipated when it hit him. She then ducked under another swing of his blade and then quickly jumped out of the way of another swing. Once away from his close range attacks, she wrapped of the pews in her energy and threw it at the demon. He sliced it in half with a swing of his left sword, harmlessly sending the two pieces flying away from him. He then fired off a black energy beam from his upper right hand and sent it straight at Raven. She put up and shield and it bounced off it and headed up towards the roof. But when the blast hit, it hit the surface and caused a sort of ripple in it before disappearing.

"What was that?" Raven asked.

"A put up a little shield around the area. Sound proof all the way. As an added bonus, things can come in, put nothing can get out. Not that anyone will come in. Save for Beast Boy."

He would die her. He would die without knowing the lover he craves. And the love you want.

These thoughts clouded her vision, for that that moment the creature glided up to her quickly and swatted her to the side with the backside of his claw. She went flying into the wall and then hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Should be a little more on your guard," the demon stated as he moved over to her," can't let your thoughts cloud your vision."

Raven got back up and pointed her hand out to fire off another shot. However, the creature grabbed her arm with his lower right claw and squeezed it tightly in his grasp. She cried out as the demon then raised her up and slammed her against the wall. With her pinned, he then pressed the tip of his right sword against her neck.

"Well, well, well. This is just how I pictured it: you losing. Hmmm, a little sad really. I hoped you would have put up a better fight," he stated.

(Damn it. Can't get out,) she thought as she looked into that creature's hideous red eye. The thing that had started her nightmares had her. She couldn't fail her friends. But-

"I sense distress in your voice. Why not I cure that with a little story?"

Only seeing hatred in her face, the demon replied," Very well. How should I begin? Of course. My name. In truth, my name is Janus."

"Suits you," Raven replied.

"I disposed that name. My master, Lucifer, didn't give it to me. Instead, that 'honor' was given to my brother."

"Trigon always had a problem with his family."

"Quiet you," Janus stated," let me go on. You see, before Trigon was sent into the dimensional void, he was born in the fires of hell. I was just brought into hell after him and was just about to receive the honor of being given a name by hell's one and only leader."

"And I take it Trigon screwed up?"

"Trigon proved to be a very weak demon, despite his strength in the other worlds. This was to the fact that he fought against my master too often, which is a sign of disobedience and failure in hell. Sadly, he dragged me along with him when Lucifer banished him. Without my power at its peak, I was forced to help my brother built up his power and forces. He then gave me the name Janus, because of my double faces. But I see it as a filthy name that the humans use in their damned legends. Trigon wandered about, bringing up cults and whatnot, while I remained a worthless soul with little power. Then, in came his plan to come to Earth, to dominate the humans before Lucifer. To do so, he had to have a child with human blood to be able to serve as his key since creatures of the spiritual worlds were banned from coming here. And so, everything was ready and you were born. However, I was thrown in as an added bonus. He sent me into your soul to make sure nothing goes wrong. I had to contend with your emotions and limited powers for the next fifteen years. The rest of the stories of how I got out and attained such strength you all ready know."

"The big question on my mind is what you plan to accomplish after you wipe me out," Raven stated.

Janus replied," Well, after you and your friends are dead, I will begin a massacre. My power exceeds all. The human race will be driven to destruction. This will bring the coming of hell on Earth, which will then stretch to the gets of Purgatory and Heaven itself. And when my master has seen what his son has accomplished, I will receive the greatest prize of all. I will finally be given a true name."

"All this for name. You really are pathetic," Raven replied. She then grunted as she felt the blade press harder against her throat.

"Paths are always different for everyone. Yours, protecting our friends and family failed miserably. Azerath is decimated, your mother is dead, and everyone else you care is soon to be annihilated as well. What have you got left?"

What do you have left? If you haven't noticed, you're trapped.

"Nothing? No answer. Well then, you wouldn't mind if I finish you off then."

I have to get out of this. I got to save everyone. But how can I get out?

Everything then seemed to go in slow motion. Janus grabbed down tighter on his blade. He then began to bring it back to strike. And all the while, thousands of questions were swimming through Raven's mind: Was this it? Could she get out of this? Was it all for nothing? Were they all going to die? Robin? Starfire? Cyborg? Beast boy-

His name finally snapped her to her senses. Her eyes then suddenly went pure white and a shock wave went out from her body that knocked Janus away. He landed in the center aisle and his blades clattered away from him.

Getting back up to his feet, Janus asked, "How did you-?" But he cried out in pain as a white energy orb struck him and sent him into a row of pews, shattering them as he crashed onto them.

Raven looked down at her hands after this and saw the white energy emitting from them. It had come to her. This was the first time this energy had returned since Trigon. But what had caused it? Was it that she wanted to help her friends? Was it the will to carry on? Or was it-

She halted her train of thought as she saw Janus once again rise to her feet. There was no time to dwell on how it happened. She had to beat this creature and end the nightmare.

"You aren't as scared as you were a few minutes ago, are you?" Janus asked.

"Doubt blinds you until you see hope," Raven stated.

"You're going to need all the hope you can get," Janus replied as he stretched out his upper arms, causing the swords to fly across the room and get back into his hands. "I intend to end your dreams once and for all."

He then suddenly threw himself at Raven and slashed at her with his right sword. She dodged this attack and threw a punch at him. He blocked this with the flat end of his left sword and did another slash with his right. Raven hit the sword with a white energy beam and it went flying out of his grasp. Janus roared and fired off two energy beams from his lower hand at Raven. She put up a white energy shield and deflected the shots away. She then charged at Janus and delivered a spin kick to the hand with the remaining sword in it. It was sent clattering away just as the previous sword had.

Angry despite the frozen grin on his face, he grabbed her leg and threw her across the room, followed by a black energy beam from his hand. Raven recovered in the air and knocked the beam aside. She then fired off two of her own white energy beams while flying straight at the demon. He blocked these with a black energy shield and fired off a black energy disk towards the girl. Raven jumped over this and got herself behind the creature.

"Silly girl," the beast's second face stated as a black energy beam shot from its frozen frown at her.

"Silly you," she replied as she dodged this attack and fired off a white orb at the demon's face. The attack hit home. Janus roared in pain as a white light emitted from his second face. Raven looked on to see that frowning face now turn into grey skin with red flesh in and around the wound.

Janus quickly turned around and out of his remaining three eyes shot three separate beams that focused into one massive black beam. Raven retaliated by bringing her two hands together and firing a large white energy beam at the creature. Their two attacks meet and it soon became a tug of war of their powers. Suddenly the red beam stopped, but Raven didn't hear the beast scream. She instead felt the demon's claws clamp down on her hands as stop the attack, as it appeared right in front of her.

"I may feel pain, but I am yet to posses such a flawless development of bone and blood. But when I get a new body, I hope I can show how angry I am without this damned grin painted on my face!" Janus yelled as he then quickly bent both arms back. Raven heard her arms snap and felt the bones break. Before she could cry out in pain, Janus then punched her quickly in the stomach and sent her flying into the wall. She hit it with a bang and slid down to the floor.

She tried to move, but her body was just spiked with pain. Her vision was going in and out of consciousness. A slow stream of blood was beginning to come from the back of her head and drip down to the floor. Without her focus, she couldn't heal herself, not like she could do it this quickly.

"I final get you down, you bitch," Janus stated as hovered over to Raven and looked down at her.

Raven tried to speak, but only could manage a choked grunt from all the blood in her mouth.

"Human bodies do have limitations mind you, which is why I love to exploit them," Janus stated as one of his blades flew into his grasp yet again. He then brought the blade up across his shoulder and down it came. A horrifying laugh, a flash of steel, a sprit of blood, and Raven was cast into a dark world.

But, as she lay in the darkness, her mind echoed one final thought before she blacked out, (Beast Boy…sorry).

This was all that was needed. For somewhere above Jump, a certain green falcon heard such a thing and was flying towards the sure where for some reason, he felt it coming from.

Is this Raven's end? Will Beast Boy meet the same fate? Chapter 14 is coming soon!