RR76: Hello all. Howzit goin'? Good you say? I'm glad. Beware Creepy Girl!

And oh yeah, this chapter is not what you think it is. What do you think it is, huh? Huh? Oh, I know what you're thinking. Not a rape chapter. Perverted freaks...

Responses:

SaintH: Eh. He can be a nice guy when he wants to. But yeah. How'd the surgery go?

Rory: ...you really don't remember? (Wipes away tear and begins plotting Rory's death)

Ember: Everybody loves Raymond! Except me!

im in a kill people mood: Oh no, I've heard of Firefly. I just haven't seen it before. I plan to see Serenity, half because of its Jossness, half because Caleb the Evil Preacher is the star.

The Desperado: Robin. He laughs at Robin's martial arts ability, and enjoys humiliating him whenever possible. He thinks Cyborg is a loudmouth and Beast Boy is an idiot.

Don't own, don't sue.

The door to the living room opened with a soft hiss to reveal the Teen Titans hard at work, Cyborg and Robin pouring over newspaper reports on the demon attacks trying to see a pattern, Starfire and Beast Boy going through the computer database. "Did I miss something?" Raven asked, stepping into the room.

The others looked at her. "Raven. Yeah, we got attacked by another demon a while ago."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Again?" she asked incredulously. "This is getting annoying..."

"Tell me about it!" Beast Boy groaned. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get demon guts out of your hair? I tried everything to get it out, peanut butter, mayo, even some of those girly hair products in the bathroom, and all it did was make it smell worse!"

Raven gave him her trademark icy stare and floated over to Cyborg and Robin. The two looked at her. "You okay Raven?" Cyborg asked. "You're looking pale...er than usual."

"The fact that I may never eat anything ever again aside..." she said, jerking her head in Beast Boy's direction, "Yeah. I think I'm okay." She looked down at the stack of newspapers. "Find anything interesting?"

"Not remotely," Robin said with a sigh. "There's no pattern or cause for these demon attacks, and no apparent source of them. It's as if they're just appearing out of thin air. For now, we're sticking with Cyborg's theory that they came looking for an apocalypse."

"There's that," Raven said. "Or, they may actually just be appearing out of thin air. Demon summoners are not unheard of."

Robin nodded thoughtfully. "Star, Beast Boy, look in the database for known demon summoners." Beast Boy nodded and typed the query into the search engine. The other Titans gathered around the computer as the results were processed. After a moment, the names were displayed on the monitor. "Results 1 through 125...out of 2,012,502..." Beast Boy said numbly. "This might take a while..."

Raven looked over the list of names. She started to feel something tug at her in the back of her mind. She scanned down the list, not knowing what she was looking for, until she saw it. A single name: "Pavayne, Cassius." She inhaled sharply, drawing the notice of the others. "Raven? Are you okay?" Beast Boy asked.

She took a step back. "Um, yeah. Listen, I'm...gonna go out for a while, I'll be back...whenever."

Starfire took a step forward. "Raven, are you sure there is nothing wrong? Perhaps you wish for me to accompany you?" she asked slowly.

"Nothing's wrong Star," Raven said dismissively. "I just need some air is all."

Raven walked down the sidewalk, her head spinning. The name kept repeating itself in her mind. Cassius Pavayne, Cassius Pavayne...who is he? she kept asking herself. It sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She stopped suddenly, and felt the familiar tug in the back of her mind. Without thinking, she unleashed her soul self and phased through cement and rock and sediment, not stopping till she reached her destination. She stopped suddenly, snapped out of her trance, and looked around, recognizing her surroundings: The bottom of the old library. The portal to Trigon's Hell dimension.

Raven looked around. Everything looked exactly the same, the statues, the giant hand in the center, and the indentations on the walls. She walked further into the chamber and heard a soft 'clink'. She raised her foot and saw what had made the sound: A small, circular, dust covered piece of copper. Raven smiled inwardly. Beast Boys' penny. She stooped down and picked it up, blowing the dust off and putting it in the pocket of her cloak.

Footsteps echoed behind her and she realized she was not alone. "What's a pretty little girl like you doing in a hellhole like this?" a voice, thick, deep and distinctly male warbled from behind her. She turned to see a man, middle aged, in a long black coat and tan slacks. Raven squinted, and could barely make out the outline of his face. "Back off, creep," she threatened, her hands glowing black.

The man cocked his head. "Silly girl, did no one ever teach you to respect your elders?" Raven searched the room for something to throw at the insolent hobo, and saw a chunk of rock that had broken off of the giant hand in the center of the chamber. She encased the rock in her powers and hurled it at the hobo. He effortlessly smacked it with the back of his hand and it crumbled into dust. Raven gasped. Okay, creepy, she thought.

"That wasn't a very nice thing to do, missy," the man said, stepping forward. "Then again, it's only natural. You never did have the firm hand of your father to teach you respect, did you...Raven?"

Raven's hands balled into fists. "Who are you, and how do you know about me and Trigon?"

The hobo gestured apologetically. "Where are my manners? Cassius Pavayne at your service milady." Raven's heart skipped a beat. Pavayne... "And as for your father, let's just say...I'm a friend of the family."

Raven's fists tightened. "Any friend of my fathers is no friend of mine! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she shouted, hurling her black magic at the demon summoner. Pavayne dodged easily and began to walk towards Raven. Her assault continued, but Pavayne seemed unfazed by everything she threw at him. He suddenly broke into a run, leapt into the air and kicked Raven into the far wall. Pavayne raised his arms and began to chant in a language Raven did not understand. "Halfere, demothio sol'tes Trigonus! Destathi!" The indentations on the walls glowed, bathing the room in a red light. Raven looked up at Pavayne and gasped at the sight of him. His face was covered in scars and burn marks, his head bald. Thin strands of dark hair hung at the back of his head. Beneath his coat, Raven could see a hilt of a sword. Pavayne walked towards her. "Maybe you hadn't heard Pavayne, but I'm not the portal to Hell anymore! This won't work!" Raven shouted at him.

Paveyne smiled--it wasn't a very nice smile. "Dear Raven," he said, drawing his sword--more like a knife, it was so short. "Who said anything about portals?" He lunged at her. Raven put up a barrier around her body, but Pavayne smashed his fist into it and it shattered. Pavayne grabbed her by the wrists and held them over the head in one hand. With his free hand, he gripped his knife and began to carve something on Ravens' belly. She whimpered in pain, making her assailant chuckle softly. When he was done, he grabbed her by the wrists and dragged her to the center of the chamber, Raven shouting in protest, struggling in a futile effort to break his grip on her.

Pavayne leapt up the impossibly high distance and landed on the giant hand, throwing Raven to the ground. He grinned and threw the knife at Raven's feet. "It has begun," he said slowly. Trembling, Raven looked at her stomach to see what Pavayne had carved. She felt her insides collapse as she beheld the Mark of Scath carved onto her. "You think that's something," Pavayne crowed, "take a look at what's happening around you..." She felt the warm blood trickle down her stomach and collect on the palm of the giant hand. It began to glow, and the fingers closed on her. Pavayne jumped down from the hand and looked up to see the fingers close around Raven, and a bright white light flash within. The fingers relaxed and returned to their original positions, and the hand stopped glowing.

Raven lay on the hand, still trembling. "This begins the 100 days," Pavayne called up to her. She heard him rise into the air, and looked out to see him floating ahead of her, a sick smile on his face. "Nothing will stop the Ascension now."

Raven sat up. "Who...what are you?" she asked shakily.

Pavayne spread his arms wide in a grand gesture. "I am the servant of a far greater power. One that has slept for countless ages. Since the beginning of time, it has corrupted the hearts and souls of the righteous, and spread death and pestilence wherever it has gone. It is a being that transcends time and reality. Wherever it has gone, I have followed. Whatever it's bidding, I carried it out. Together, we brought entire nations to their knees." He floated next to Raven and knelt down. "You know of what I speak..."

Raven took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "The Hellgod..." she whispered.

Pavayne grinned. "Now you're catching on..." He rose and paced back and forth on the limited space of the giant hand. "But, alas, I grew bored with my existence. I immersed myself in the mythology of the Three, the prime evils of the universe, and steeped myself in their lore, searching for, shall we say...a loophole in my contract. And I finally found one." He looked at the girl sitting in the center of the hand, disheveled and quite possibly emotionally scarred for life. "You, Raven. Through you, I can finally rise beyond my master of old. The Ancient One himself will cower before me...heh, sounds like a party." He stood over Raven, towering over her. "I will destroy this world, Raven...and what's more...you're going to be my vessel."

He suddenly reached out and grabbed Raven's head, pressing his palm against the gem on her forehead. "What do you say?" A bright light engulfed the two of them and Raven felt a terrible pain in her head. She shut her eyes tightly and howled in agony, and then, abruptly, the light faded and the pain was gone. She opened her eyes. Pavayne had disappeared. Raven stood up and winced, feeling her stomach. She put her hand over the wound and concentrated her powers on healing herself. The wound closed, but the scar remained. Raven grimaced and stood, and a sharp pain shot through her head. Maybe walking isn't such a good idea... she thought, floating down from the giant hand.

Raven levitated up the spiral staircase that led to the chamber at the bottom of the old library. So, not only is the city under attack by demons, (which, granted, not my fault, but still pretty irritating), but I've got Carson's memories floating around my head, a demon summoner is stalking me, and once again, I'm destined to end the world.

Raven sighed. It sucked being her.

RR76: No more than it sucked writing this chapter. Seriously. I hate this chapter. Hate it hate it hate it! So much ruined potential...well, you don't have to review this chapter if you don't want to. I'll reveal more backstory next time. Bye now.