One moment we were all standing in Raven's bedroom- the mirror piqued my curiosity- and the next we were inside Rorek's spell book. Malchior's prison.

"Very smooth spell." I couldn't resist complimenting her. Raven had done well.

"Thanks ever so much." Even within the darkness of her hood, I could see Raven rolling her eyes. "Don't worry. I timed the spell. No matter what, we'll all return within two hours."

"As long as we stay alive." Arella had a staff of her own … one that I had given her so long ago. I had enchanted it to be all but indestructible. What I knew about staff fighting, she had taught me. (Father had taught me the use of a sword if you're curious.)

"That is the rub," Raven admits.

"Do you have your powers here?" Robin asks. He has his own staff and he was scanning the sky, looking for trouble.

"Sensors are getting wacky readings, but I still got my groove on." Cyborg scans around. "I don't read any other people other than us."

Beast Boy turns into a dog and sniffs the ground. He becomes an eagle and flies high up into the sky before landing. "This ain't what I was expecting, yo."

"It is different." Starfire is hovering in mid-air with Mae beside her.

"After what you guys said, I was expecting some sort of Medieval Village with castles and stuff." Tara looks around. "This doesn't look all that different from Jump City."

"Malchior's been trapped in this book for centuries." I'm reluctant to use my magic to search for him. As soon as Raven or I use any active magic, he'll be able to sense us. I don't want him to find us before we find him. "He's shaped the reality of the place to his liking. This was our home, our world- before I destroyed it."

I feel Arella's hand on my shoulder. "Trigon … don't. We don't have time for you to wallow in guilt right now. I need you focused on the mission."

"That's our girl," Atlas chuckles. "It's good to have you back, 'Rell."

"You didn't even remember me, Atlas. And don't call me 'Rell."

"Whatever you say, 'Rell."

She sighs and then hugs him. "God, I am so glad to have you back, you big tin can."

"Look," Mae whispers. She used to be so loud, so happy … but she's been capable of no more than a whisper since she woke up. "I think Trigon's about to smile."

"I am totally not smiling." I say it sternly, but I can feel my lips twitching.

My team- my family- is almost complete.

There's no traffic on the streets. There are abandoned autos, but no people. Our skyscrapers were different than the ones on Earth- less glass- but they were just as tall.

And Malchior could be on any one of them, waiting to swoop down and destroy us.

"This was the city that we protected," Arella murmurs.

"Yes." Atlas turns and points down a given street. "Our tower should be out that way."

"Tower?" Raven asks.

"We were the Champions of Chaos City," I murmur. "We had a tower on a mountaintop- far enough away to keep the city safe if our enemies attacked, close enough that we could get here when we needed to." I glance at Arella. "You're thinking he'll be there."

"Dragons like high places. And that was his home. Mal's there. I'm sure of it."

"He's not Mal now." I hate having to say this. "You have to remember he's not the dragon we knew."

"He's still in there," Arella touches my cheek. "I know he is. We just have to bring him out."

"We will." I try to sound firm. "We will."

"If we're not going to use magic, are we going to have to hoof it?" Cyborg asks. "I mean, these cars aren't real, are they? I can't imagine a dragon knows how to make working cars."

"You'd be surprised," Atlas murmurs easily. "I taught Mal a lot because I needed someone to help me with maintenance. Mae was enthusiastic, but never got the hang of our tech. 'Rell was willing, but she was too busy training the team all the time. And Trig?" I try to ignore how hot my ears get when Atlas laughs. "You really don't want to see the tragedies that happen when Trig gets behind the wheel."

"I saw him drive and I lived to tell the tale," Terra says stoutly. She's back in her old Titans uniform. "Barely."

"And I thought I could always count on you, Tara." I do my best to look offended.

She lightly leaps off her rock and rushes up to give me a sudden hug. "Of course you can always count on me, Trey. You're my best friend."

I hug her back, surprised. Random hugs was not something I had experienced as a Demon Lord. Even before that … even before that I seldom had physical contact with anyone, and Arella was the only one who ever initiated anything. "Thank you, Tara."

I glance over at Beast Boy. Given the torch he'd been carrying for her, I expected him to look jealous at this display of Tara's affection for me. He wasn't.

He was looking at Raven.

Raven has this look on her face that I never would have expected. "If you two are through with the Daddy-daughter bonding, we should get a move on if we're going to save Malchior." She floated away.

Arella watched her go, frowning slightly as well.

Tara lets go of me. "I'll go help Atlas."

"Sure, kid. Come on." Atlas puts a careful hand on her shoulder and the two of them walk away.

"Um … I'll go lend a hand too." Cyborg saunters after them.

"Starfire, Mae, and I can do some reconnaissance," Robin offers. "If that's all right with you, Arella."

"Me?" she asks with a smile.

"Your team. Your world. And you're obviously the one in charge."

"Go right ahead. Mae can help you out. I'm sure she remembers Chaos City."

"This will be an adventure! Friend Mae-Eye you must tell me all about your adventures!"

Mae-Eye smiles slightly. "That would take a long time, Starfire."

"Then we had best start." Starfire flew down and took Robin into her arms. The three of them flew off.

"Go to her." Arella isn't looking at me. "Go to Raven."

"What for? She hates me. Nothing I can say or do will ever change that."

"Did you see that look she gave you?"

"Yes. She was upset we were wasting time."

"She was upset that you treat Tara more like a daughter than you do her."

"Raven made it clear that she doesn't want any part of me."

"That's what she said. That's not what she meant. Go to her."

"You should go to her. You're her mother."

"I've not been the best mother, but I'm not the one who tried to use her as a weapon. The one who was every bit the monster that Azar told her he was- until he wasn't. Her whole world's been turned upside down because you're not the person she spent her life believing you to be. And if you're not the monster she's supposed to fight, who is she supposed to be?"

"She can be whoever she wants." The sudden anger in me makes my jaws ache. "I'll destroy anyone who threatens her."

"That's a bit more than she needs to hear right now, Trig." Arella looks at me. "Go to her. Talk to her. You won't fix anything without talking."

"This can't be fixed. I lost my chance to be Raven's father when I made the choices I did. When I became the Demon Lord."

"Stop being so stubborn or I'll kick your ass. We're going to be in the fight of our lives, soon. We can't afford for our two heaviest hitters to be estranged from each other. Now go talk to her or I'll drag you off to her myself."

"You have the resolve face, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

"Fine. But don't blame me if she tries to kill me."

"I won't."

Raven is standing by herself watching Cyborg and Atlas argue about finding or creating a vehicle they can use. Beast Boy is with her cracking really stupid jokes.

He's a hero. Can't kill him just because he's making puppy dog eyes at my daughter.

"Beast Boy," I murmur. "Why don't you go help the others."

It wasn't a request, and he didn't take it as such. "Um … sure, Trigon. Just call out if you need anything, Rae."

"Don't call me Rey … Garfield."

Beast Boy winces and then becomes a small bird and flutters away.

"What do you want, Trigon?" She didn't look at me.

"To … be better for you." I swallow. "To be your father."

"You're too late for that."

"I know. I didn't say I expected it to happen. I just told you what I wanted." I look at one of the other buildings. "I never expected Arella to choose me."

"What?"

"Mal was in love with her too. And in spite of being a dragon in his true form, he was the better man. He was smart. Funny. Charming. Kind. Generous. Heroic. Personable. Pretty much everything I wasn't. Arella liked him too."

"What happened?"

"I told her that I understood why she liked him better than me. I listed all the reasons he was the better choice. I told her that I wouldn't let my personal feelings interfere with the team and that I wouldn't act jealous." I smirk. "I was lying."

"Of course." Raven's tone was indecipherable.

"She agreed with me. She said that Mal was a better choice. That she could be happy with him. That he loved her, and that it wasn't impossible that she could learn to love him too. Then she said there was just one problem."

"I was in love with another man." Arella walked over to us.

"I thought you said that I had to handle this."

"I did. I changed my mind."

"Mother."

"Raven."

"Why him? Why Trigon? You knew his legacy. Why take it on? Why throw away a chance for happiness and a normal life."

"You think being married to a dragon would have been a normal life?"

"More normal than this." Raven sighs and looks at us. "Why him, Mother? Knowing how badly it could blow up, why would you let yourself fall in love with Trigon?"

"I didn't 'let' myself fall in love with Trigon, Raven. It happened. He was the one person I couldn't live without. Trig would have done his best to live up to his word; he would have stayed with us; he would have been Mal's friend. He would have been my friend. But it wouldn't have been enough. Not for me.

"I love him, Raven. I did then. I do now. And it's because I loved him, that you came to be." Arella walks over to our daughter. "I'm sorry your life has been so traumatic. I wish that it could have been simpler. I wish you could have grown up with us as your parents and our friends as your family. I wish you could have been born to peace."

"But I wasn't. I was born the daughter of a Demon Lord."

"I'm sorry, Raven." Just words, but it was all I had to offer.

"You know, I thought I had made peace with my heritage when I defeated you. You were gone. I had my friends. I was making a difference every day. And if I still had my powers- if there was still darkness in me, I knew my place in the world."

Raven shudders. "And then you came back- and you're not a monster. You're good. You're even- dare I say it?- heroic. You have friends. People you care about. You're trying to do the right thing. You're good to Terra. You treat her like a daughter.

"But not me. You stay away from me. You don't tell me the truth."

"Would you have believed me?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But you stayed away. You didn't give me a chance to know you. To know the real you. Even when I showed up on your front door, you literally hid who you were from me."

"I had to."

"Why?"

"Because I was afraid."

My answer clearly surprises her because she turns and looks at me. "Afraid?"

"You have no reason to love me. Quite the opposite in fact. I damned my friends, Raven. If they hadn't sent your mother away ..." I close my eyes to keep the dark thoughts out of my head. "I was a monster. I had never been anything good for you. You would have every right to turn your back on me- or knock me on my ass. I couldn't go through with that. I couldn't stand the thought of you knowing who I was and not being a part of your life. If you didn't know, you might come back to the book store. That was all I hoped for."

"And you already found yourself a new daughter, didn't you? You had Tara. You didn't need me. You had her. Someone who didn't know the monster you were before. Someone who could just accept you with open arms- the easy choice.

"You had her. You didn't need me. You didn't want me."

"That's not true." I'm surprised by this. "You're my daughter. I care for Tara- yes, but she didn't take your place in my heart. No one can take your place in my heart, Raven. You may never love me, but there will never come a time when I don't love you."

Raven looks at me and I feel like my heart is going to break all over. "I want to trust you- I want to believe you- but it's so hard. I'm afraid this is a dream. That I'll wake up in my bed and you'll still be the monster."

"I know. I understand."

"But can we try?" There are tears on Raven's face, and I suspect on my mine too. "Can we try to be a family? Even if it's just a dream? Can I call you Dad?"

"You can call me whatever you want, Raven." I open my arms up.

She looks at me for a moment. She doesn't say anything.

I'm a fool. I shouldn't expect that much. I start to lower my arms …

And then Raven flies into them.

And we hold each other for a very long time.