Warmth. It was all she could feel encompassing her weary body. The sensation soothed her tired muscles and calmed her scattered mind. An eye amid the terrible storm she'd been weathering. Despite the great fatigue that plagued her body it seemed her mind desired to wake. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she drew in a long breath and released it. To great surprise her vision was met with the familiar void of her mindscape. The endless expanse of stars stretched thin across the sky.

She sat up taking in her surroundings, marveling at the strange warmth it seemed to offer her. She'd visited her plane of Nevermore a countless number of times but never had she felt this sort of comfort from it. She began to study the scene more carefully trying to find anything different about her normally cold and foreboding mind. Her eyes fell over the floating rocks and blackened trees, no doubt that it was indeed her Nevermore. However to her astonishment she noted something unfamiliar. A singular tree in the distance seemed to carry a collection of uncharacteristic flowers. It drew a vague similarity to a Japanese cherry tree blooming for the first time in its season. It was beautiful, unlike anything she'd ever seen in her Nevermore.

That's when she noticed it. Standing beside the tree stood a thin figure in a white cloak. Her thoughts drifted to explaining the clearly feminine figure away as one of her emoticlones but she'd only ever seen her true self in white. Confusion drove her to stand and she noted the woman clearly stood taller than her as well. Raven began to cautiously approach the figure trying to find any clue to who she might be but even as she stopped a few feet away she could find nothing save for a vague sense of familiarity toward them. After a few moments of consideration she finally spoke.

"Who are you?"

The figure seemed unperturbed by the sudden sound of her voice as if she knew she'd be there. The woman began tilting her head in the direction of the young empath. Raven watched closely but when the woman's hood would have revealed enough to betray a face a great white light obscured her features and blinded Raven. She shielded her eyes from the extreme contrast as the woman spoke.

"Rachel."

The strangely distorted voice echoed through the great expanse of her mind. Confusion ran deep as she struggled to understand the striking familiarity she felt from the mysterious woman. Her thoughts eventually fixated on the name they'd called her pushing her through the painful contrast of the light. She unshielded her eyes and as she did the light seemed to fade away revealing the familiar face of the figure before her. Her eyes immediately went wide at the sight.

"Mother?"

Arella turned to fully face her child and gave a simple nod. Raven couldn't help but leave her mouth agape at the unexpected sight of her mother standing before her. All conscious thought went out the window as she ran and threw her arms tightly around her. Arella returned the gesture in kind, hugging her daughter as close as she could.

"Mother, I've missed you."

Arella smiled and pulled back from their embrace, both still holding onto each other's arms as they looked at one another.

"And I, you."

Raven let a large smile spread across her lips as she tried all she could to keep tears from streaming down her face. She'd longed to see her mother again ever since the day she'd found out about her terrible fate at the hands of Trigon. A part of her had never fully accepted it either but seeing her there, within the confines of her own mind, only proved what she'd known to be true.

Despite the combination of despair and joy that threatened to crack her composure she couldn't help but wonder why her mother would appear to her. Breaking the brief silence she asked,

"Mother, what are you doing here?"

Arella's smile soured slightly with a bit of sorrow before she turned back to face the void.

"Given all that's happened recently, I needed to see you. To warn you."

Arella shut her eyes, clearly reliving some painful memory. Perhaps she'd seen what had befallen her dear daughter. Raven looked on awaiting her continued explanation.

"Your half-brother, Jacob, has stolen your birthmark and with it is one step closer to summoning your father back to the plane of mortality."

A heavy stroke of fear immediately descended upon her shoulders.

"I thought it was over. I beat him, I banished him!"

Raven stammered out but Arella just sighed.

"You did. You banished him. The mark, however, lays dormant. Able to be used again by whomever wields it."

"Then how do we stop him?"

Arella looked deeper into the void as if it possessed the answers to her questions.

"The final requirement is the will of the eldest child."

Arella turned her head to finally look at raven again.

"You."

Raven quirked her brow in confusion.

"Me?"

Arella nodded.

"As the eldest living child of Trigon you hold dominion over his greatest powers. A gate keeper in a way. So long as you remain the eldest child and your will stands unfailingly against your father then the mark cannot be used."

Raven's mind filled with understanding. Her life and will were all that stood between mortality and complete destruction. A scenario she was all too familiar with though this time she wasn't the instrument of destruction, Jacob was. The fear she felt continued to fester as she remembered her first confrontation with the iron clad warrior. The sound of cracking bones resounded in her mind and she shuddered.

"Mother, how can we hope to defeat them? They're stronger than I am and they've spent their whole lives training to fight!"

Arella offered a somber smile.

"My child, the Azar chose the path of an empath for you because it would give you great control. Your abilities may be different but you possess far greater power than them. Know that without the mark you have lost the last tether to your father and you will have the capacity to use your powers more freely than ever before. You can defeat them and you will."

Arella placed a hand on Raven's shoulder as an offering of comfort.

"My time is spent but you still have yours. I know you will endure as you always have, my child."

The two embraced again, Raven struggling to hold back tears. Arella spoke again as they parted.

"Now go. You have a world to save."

Raven offered a small smile to her mother before she spoke once more.

"Besides, I've heard from a girl in a purple cloak there may be someone waiting for you."

Raven's face reddened ever so slightly and Arella giggled at her response. After a moment she spoke again.

"I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too."

With that Raven closed her eyes and her body drifted into the void.

—-

Even as she floated through the darkness the warmth never left her. If anything as she neared the surface of her consciousness it seemed to surround her even more. When feeling finally returned to her body she felt a thin but soft blanket draped messily across her body and finger tips loosely pulling through her soft hair, lightly massaging her scalp. The emotions she felt through the physical contact were unmistakable. Always the calming cool of his thoughts mixed with the perfectly contrasting heat of his skin to hers. She shivered slightly at the sensations and she could sense a feeling of concern surface in Robin's mind.

It was impossible to know how long she'd slept but she was sure it had been long enough. She opened her eyes and quickly took in her surroundings. She was laying on her side atop the makeshift bed of their hideout with her head supported in the boy wonders lap as he ran tantalizing fingers through her lilac hair. Despite the wonderful and relaxing feeling of his musings she felt the need to sit up. She moved her free arm out in front of her to push herself up but the instant she put pressure on the palm of her hand she remembered the stakes that had been driven through her wrists. She withdrew her hand to her chest with a quiet whimper of pain. Robin was startled by the sound of her pained gasp.

"Raven!"

Robin quickly leaned forward to see what had happened. Raven took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder at the masked boy wonder with a weak smile, wincing in time with her throbbing wrists. Robin offered a somber smile and helped her to sit upright to his left as she leaned against the wall with him.

Raven inspected her messily wrapped wounds but she could feel Robin's intense gaze of concern burning into her side. She ignored it for the moment as she studied the stark white bandages wrapped hap-hazardously from the heel of her palm to about a third up her arm. The pure white color of the fabric told her the garment was recently changed and her wounds were no longer bleeding. The messy but well intentioned wrapping led her to believe that robin had been the one taking care of her. She smiled to herself at the thought.

"So. . . How are you feeling?"

The sudden words tore raven from her mind and she glanced over at the dark knights ward for a moment before returning her eyes to her wrists and scoffing.

"Like shit."

Were it not for the dead pan of her voice it would be clear to tell the words were meant as a joke but when Raven glanced back and noticed Robin's saddened face hanging a bit lower she realized just how distasteful the joke had been. She quickly placed a hand over his, gingerly grasping his fingers as she spoke.

"But I'm still here because of you."

Raven leaned forward trying to force her face into his frame of view. It worked as Robin glanced up at her and offered a half smile, still lost in his own self hatred.

"They shouldn't have been able to get to you in the first place. I'm sorry. . . ."

Robin looked back down at his lap again though his thumb began to lightly trace the fingers holding onto his hand. Raven shook her head and offered a sad smile.

"It's not all bad."

Raven said softly. The strange statement peaked Robin's interest as he looked up to her with an eyebrow cocked in confusion. Raven began to explain.

"The ritual they performed removed my birthmark. . . The last anchor between me and my father."

Robin's brain tried to wrap itself around her words but still fell short.

"I thought you were already free after you banished him?"

Raven shook her head.

"His influence was lessened but I could still feel his rage inside of me. I still had to be careful. Now it's like I finally have full control of my emotions. I feel... free."

Robin smiled a bit but quickly returned to a pensive state.

"I still don't fully understand. We saw what they intended in your visions, why would they do something that would help you?"

Raven sat a quiet moment as she carefully pieced together her next words and focused her gaze on the white bandage of her left wrist in her lap.

"Because it helped them too. They need the mark to summon Trigon again."

Raven glanced to her right to see Robin's eyes narrowed in further confusion but this time there was a flame of fear illuminating them as well. Raven looked back to her lap and continued.

"My birthmark is somehow tied to the summoning spell but it can only be used by the eldest living child. Which is currently me."

The two sat in silence for a long moment, Robin wrapping his thoughts around the new knowledge to digest it while Raven did her best not to be swallowed by fear herself. She was surprised when she heard Robin speak.

"I won't let that happen. I won't let them hurt you again."

Raven looked to Robin again to see his eyes trained on her with a fiery determination seething through his skin. even still she could sense a small amount of trembling in his hands and she tightened her grip on his fingers as much as she could to comfort him.

"I know."

Robin offered her a weak smile. It was clear how much he wanted to protect her but she could feel the fear and uncertainty racking his soul. What if he failed? What if she died under his protection? What if the end came again and this time there really was no hope? The perpetuating downward spiral of thoughts and questions consumed his mind until he could support the feelings no more. His exhaustion started to overtake him as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Raven noticed it quickly and attempted to change the subject of conversation with a question.

"When's the last time you slept?"

Robin attempted to blink the tiredness out of his eyes.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Robin smirked at the dark sorceress for a moment before his eyelids began to falter to gravity once again. He began to waiver and fall forward but Raven caught him, placing his forehead against hers. She smiled at his trademark overprotective and stubborn nature, not too unlike herself. Raven closed her eyes enjoying the calm and peaceful moment together. With their close proximity she couldn't help but breathe in his scent that had become so familiar to her over the last few months. The nearly intoxicating aroma reminded her of the many peaceful and calming moments they'd shared over the course of their friendship.

Every interaction seemed to draw them closer and she nearly depended on his calm emotions to be her rock in the storm of life. It seemed so natural to be so close to him. A strange thought for the normally distant young sorceress. The next few seconds seemed just as natural to her though she was sure she heard one of her emoticlones shouting in the background of her mind. Without a second thought, Raven tilted her head upward and her ashen lips gingerly met his. She was immediately surprised by how soft his lips were on hers adding to the already euphoric experience. It took a few seconds for Robin's sleep-deprived brain to understand what was happening but as soon as he did he tilted his head into the tender kiss as well

The passionate moment only lasted a few seconds but ended when Raven's mind finally caught back up to her. She tore herself away with a mad blush beginning to form on her cheeks. Her mind warred with itself with half of her emoticlones claiming she'd done nothing wrong while the other half scolded her for kissing her leader. When she finally managed to silence them enough to think she looked back at Robin expecting to see a confused and shocked look but instead found a large grin stuck on his full lips. His eyes remained closed as his body had finally given up on trying to keep them open but it was clear to Raven that Robin was fully aware of what had just happened. Her blush only deepened at the bizarre idea that her leader and best friend enjoyed the interaction. She wasn't allowed much time to overthink it as Robin's body wavered again and began to fall away from her. This time she was unable to stop his descent but aided in slowing it down so he laid gently down on the old mattress. Raven smiled at his now clearly sleeping form and resigned herself to figuring out her emotions later. She adjusted the blanket at her feet to cover her and Robin as she laid next to him, her head resting on his rhythmically rising and falling chest.