1Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, but hey, I think we all knew that already

Trying To Do the Right Thing

Chapter 25: RedBird's Regret, Blackbird's Promise

By: Finalitylife

I am only a man, only a simple human being without any super powers at all and in the grand cosmic order of the universe, what relevance does my life truly have...it really makes me wonder after everything that has happened. I am a single life and when the dust finally settled with the battle against Trigon, I knew that I had done everything in my own power to ensure the universes survival. I do not regret the decision I had to make.

Human beings are naturally weak, having to rely only on their ingenuity, their cunning and intelligence, and the strength of their will to survive. Trigon, in all his vast power, knowledge, and strength, was easy to understand. He was driven by hatred, rage, and evil, wanting nothing but destruction, fire, and pain. He was as subtle as the atomic bomb, and in the end the strong, rigid, and unbending agenda of the great demon lord fell to ashes just as he intended the universe to be.

What truly was my role in his destruction I wonder still? It was I who sought to bring Raven back from where she had been lost too though I never did complete my intended mission. I brought her near to coming back, but not all the way, the rest of the way she walked herself because in the end, the battle was hers to win, for she was the only one who could.

I played a part, I helped protect a child from the monsters of a demon as well as myself as best as a mere human being could, allowing her the opportunity to bury her past, put an end to her cursed destiny. I played only a small part, and in the end it cost me freedom, giving me a fate almost worse than death I think sometimes. I do not regret my decision.

A man made a deal with the Devil himself and despite all possibilities, he won...he came out on top even when all reality itself said he shouldn't even be alive. I chose to make deal with that man, I chose to make a deal with my Devil to do what I knew I had to do and I lost...I lost.

It is always the same when I end up dealing with Slade all alone yet I always find myself in those situations even when my intentions and reasoning change. Perhaps that is my fate, to forever be locked in a losing battle against the one I most wish to defeat just as it was Raven's fate to fight a losing battle again her Father returning to the mortal realm. Raven's dark fate came to a culmination, her destiny fulfilled when Trigon returned but she found the power to fight back, twisted her demonic heritage into a weapon of light that extinguished forever the darkness of her Father. However, I know it can not be the same for me because after all, I am only a powerless human.

When I'm in his presence, I can feeling the burning within my right hand, but there is also something else, something far worse. It burns...burn inside me though I know it is not truly physical for there is no medical action I can ever take to heal it. It is physical yet completely intangible...how is that even possible? Haha, oh yeah that's right...magic. Its all magic...dark magic that has tied me once again to that which I can not simply escape on my own. I do not regret my decision.

If I don't serve him, do not obey his commands, then inevitably, I will lose myself to the twisted black energy flowing within my very soul. If I willingly serve him, I fear I may lose myself to the shadows that I know are an unavoidable part of me. I scares me, it truly does. I know I am not the perfect hero, never was, but I also know I am not a villain, and definitely not the villain Slade wishes me to become.

The only saving grace is that Slade wants me to voluntary serve him rather than have to use the dark spell he cursed me with. He wants me to choose to follow him...to become him, this much I know. The curse is his insurance to keep me around and if his worst case scenario comes to past, the spell can effectively make me what he wants. The curse keeps me around and in time, Slade believes he can show me the truth of what I am, the truth of what he truly represents, and sway me to his malevolent side. I want to believe it will never happen, though in the darkest corner of my mind there are doubts...doubts that whisper relentlessly.

Slade will take it slow, this much I know, not force me to make any decisions he knows I will immediately refuse. He will not ask me to kill and never have I been more thankful about anything than this. He wants a killer, but he wants me to become a killer, not be warped into one.

This has become my fate and I have no regrets because I did what I had to do, and in the end, I did the right thing. Most importantly I did my part to ensure a world would have another dawn, and in doing so, I made sure my beloved friends would live another day safe from unending darkness. In the end, it was all I could do, and I have no regrets...except for one...one single regret.

This all started so long ago, with the innocent confession of an amethyst-eyed angel and my careless decision on how to deal with it. So much has transpired, so much has come to pass, and so many questions were finally answered, including one question that hung in the background of even the greatest of apocalyptic events. Do I love her? Four words and only ten letters, doesn't seem like that much of a question, but it is one of those questions that is beyond the scope of its words, far beyond the scope of anything that can simply be seen.

It consumed me once, and even now it still consumes me though for a different reason. I once did not know the answer to this question, had not the slightest clue where even to begin to answer it, and I remember being driven nuts by the situation and its consequences. Now however, I know the answer to this question, know without a shadow of a doubt that the answer is in fact yes, yet my one regret is that I never got to tell her...not when she was conscious to hear it at least. I am such a coward still it seems even after all that has passed. I could not tell her and now, it may be too late, at least for me.

The world is alive, my friends are alive, and Raven...Raven is truly allowed to live for the first time in her existence. She is free, her mind, body and soul are free, and because of all that, I have only a single regret.

A buzzing in my ear pulls me from my thoughts.

"Apprentice, it is time to leave Jump City. Return to me." I feel the tingle deep inside as he speaks, as I take one last look at a giant T towering over the landscape...a beacon of hope for all the innocent, my beacon of hope within rather than without. One last look...

"I love you Raven," and the darkness encompasses me once more.

Raven P.O.V:

It has finally ended and to this very moment I still can not believe it, can not even fathom what has truly occurred. Maybe it is because I have dreamed of this moment ever since I knew what I was and what followed just behind every footstep I took? Maybe it is because Trigon is finally gone, can never claim to be my father ever again, can never try to bring pain and suffering to the innocents of all realms of existence? Or maybe its because Robin is not by my side, because every waking moment is consumed with thoughts of him, tears falling for him, screams of sadness and need for him.

It must be the last one. The reality I've wanted for so very long does not exist despite the defeat of Trigon because Robin was lost in the process, and my life, even with my freedom, even with Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy still by my side, is almost hallow because the one I hold dearest to my heart is not here.

When I awoke to the faces of me three friends instead of four, I knew it had all not been some twisted final nightmare, and that what I had scene in Robin's mind had been real. Robin had signed a contract in blood, with his very soul, and he did it all to save the universe...and us.

What hurts most is I knew it was the right choice. What is the price of one being in the grand scale of all lives, all reality? It is nothing, simple as that. One being's importance should never outweigh that of all others, something I never did understand.

In the end, I could not watch my friends be hurt, and I willingly allowed Trigon his freedom. I valued their lives above all others, I valued my own life as well. I was selfish in my desire to live because really what is the value of one and only one being when compared to all the beauty and innocence that does and ever will exist? It is nothing...nothing.

Robin understood this and his actions were driven not selfishly by his desire to live, not by his selfish desire for the Titans and me to live. No, they were driven so that all could live. He suffered greatly, sacrificed his freedom to the one being he despises above all others, and in doing so, helped set in motion the events that allowed my temporary ascension into the light so that my father would fall. He did what he needed to do for the universes sake, and yet I so badly want to hate him for it.

I want to hate him for not being there when I woke up. I want to hate him for not having his arms wrapped around me at this very moment in celebration. I want to hate him for leaving my heart all alone when all I should be is happy and content. I want to hate him...but I can't. I love him...love him more than anything or anyone I've ever encountered, and there is not a single second that goes by that I don't miss his warm presence.

Damn him...why did he have to go! It hurts so much right in my heart and sometimes it almost feels like it wants to stop beating, just go completely numb. However, the Titans keep me here, keep me with some peace of mind. I still have them...I am not alone...I will never be alone again, and at least I have that.

Robin has left but he is never gone from my mind, from any of our minds, and I know he will not be lost forever. I will find a way to break the dark spell that binds him to the madman who dwells in reality as well as all our nightmares. Robin will be free just as I am now free and then we all can be together finally in peace, and maybe, then he'll love me as I love him, and all can be right in the world. Dreams of a caged bird now set free, hopes of a heart that won't stop weeping until Robin is returned.

He is loved, he is needed, and he will be saved. This I vow...this I promise.

A/N: Short and simple...epilogueish

On another note, I'm questioning if this story will be continued because I get the feeling it is not really enjoyed much anymore. I guess its more of a feeling than anything, I don't know. This part does work as a type of ending though not a final ending but really, I have to look at it this way...would it be better if I spent my time writing something else? Its an interesting question that I really have to ask myself because I owe it to readers to produce the best, most enjoyed writing I can, and I feel like I'm not doing that. Who knows. Either way, don't expect an update for this story until probably March 1st, which isn't that far away but it could be longer. Just have to wait and see since I'm not usually one to ever end a story without getting to where I want it to be. Peace.