Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

Trigon the Terrible was not pleased. He was sitting on his rocky throne in the bowels of the lair that he and his daughter had carved out of solid Colorado granite. His throne room was dark and lugubrious, illuminated by glowing embers, hot magma he had summoned from the bowels of the Earth to illuminate his abode. The air was hot, stuffy and humid which was the way the trans-dimensional demon liked it. Nevertheless he was displeased.

Lamia, his firstborn daughter, had failed him. She had allowed herself to be destroyed by the changeling of all people! And to add insult to injury Raven had extracted her weakened spirit from the geomancer and had cast her into hell itself.

This had been an unfortunate setback as Trigon had chosen to share much of his power with Lamia so that she would be able to vanquish Raven once and for all. That power had been lost with her and now he was weakened and the Titans along with some Justice Leaguers were preparing to storm the gates of his realm. He was so debilitated that he had to recall the dark energy that Lamia had used to conjure the army of inner demons, as that was all that was left of her power.

Trigon knew that in his current condition he was no match for his bastard daughter Raven, especially in her new angelic form. But he had an ace in the hole he could take advantage of. He too would use Raven's mate as a weapon against her. But he would need to recapture the green boy. Fortunately he still had plenty of fire demons at his disposal, but they alone would not be enough. But that wouldn't be a problem …

Terra could tell that Raven and Beast Boy weren't quite themselves. Raven looked unusually pale, even by her old gray standards, and the geomancer could see that she was trembling ever so slightly. Terra realized that Beast Boy's mate had not replenished all the blood she had lost and she looked weak. Beast Boy wasn't exactly a basket of fruit either. He had dark circles under his eyes and she noticed that he too was trembling as he hugged his wife. Terra knew they were in no shape to continue the fight which worried her, as she knew very well that Trigon awaited them.

"You guys don't look so good." She broke the silence, stating the obvious

Beast Boy released Raven from his embrace.

"Terra's right Rae. We still have to fight Trigon. But we can't, not like this. He'd eat us for lunch."

"What about the others?" Terra asked. "Maybe they can help us?"

Raven shook her head.

"The last time I saw them, they were fighting their inner demons. I don't think we should count on them." She replied sadly.

"So what do we do?" Beast Boy asked. "I feel so weak that I'm not sure I can even morph."

"I guess we rest for a bit. We really don't have a choice." Raven replied.

Terra was wandering around the cavernous room, lost in thought, until she saw Lamia's weapon lying on the floor. She bent over and picked it up by its grip.

"Maybe we can use Lamia's sword …" She began to say.

Raven turned towards the blond and shrieked. "Terra! Drop it! Now!"

As Raven shouted Terra noticed that the tip of the blade appeared to turn into ash and began to quickly crumble. Terra watched in horror as the rest of the sword rapidly continued to turn into ash, working its way towards her hand. She reflexively released the grip just before it crumbled into dust. Its remains never made it to the floor.

"What was that?!" Terra shouted as she stared at her hand, which was tingling and felt numb.

"A curse." Raven replied. "No one but Lamia can wield that sword. Are you OK?"

Terra continued to stare at her hand while she shook it.

"It was feeling numb, but it passed … I was in danger, wasn't I?"

"You were." Raven replied. "Had you not dropped it on time it would have turned you into dust as well."

Beast Boy stared at the ashen remains of the sword.

"Why does everything about these guys have to be so creepy?" He asked.

"They're evil incarnate Gar." She replied. "It's their calling card."

"You don't have to tell me that Rae. She wanted to keep me like a pet."

"More like a sex toy." Terra added. "She made my skin crawl."

Beat Boy snorted. "Just wait until you meet her father."

Raven sighed. "Let's rest."

Beast Boy and Raven sat down together on the floor, leaning against a sloping wall. Raven rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. In less than a minute she was snoring. Beast Boy caressed her face.

"Go ahead BB, get some sleep. I'll keep guard."

The changeling nodded.

"OK, but wake us up in 20 minutes OK? We can't …"

Beast Boy stopped as his sensitive ears picked up something.

"We have company." He whispered. He turned to Raven and began to rouse her.

"Rae, wake up, someone's coming."

Raven's eyelids popped open, revealing her weary amethyst orbs, which looked alarmed. It was then that she realized that the room they were in had only one exit.

"Terra, you need to get us out of here!"

The geomancer nodded and extended her hands at the wall and attempted to dig an exit. The walls resisted her best efforts.

"I've never seen rock like this before. It's hard as diamonds. I don't think I can dig through it. It's like its resisting my powers."

"Is everything here cursed?" Beast Boy moaned.

Raven stood up, facing the room's only entrance.

"We can't run, so get ready to fight …" She said as she drew her sword.

Beast Boy and Terra adopted their fighting stances, ready for whatever was about to come through the room's entrance. The changeling strained his ears to get a feeling for what was coming.

"I hear a lot of feet." He announced. "It sounds like a crowd."

His empath wife nodded. "I can sense them. They seem agitated. They're getting close."

Raven raised her heavenly sword with her right hand while she conjured a sphere of white energy around her left hand.

"They're almost here." He whispered.

The three Titans were beginning to pounce when they saw the first of the crowd enter through the door.

It was Nightwing.

The three released a collective sigh of relief.

"Dude, I am so glad to see you!" Beast Boy cheered.

Nightwing looked overjoyed to see the three Titans safe and sound. Starfire was right behind him.

"Friends! You are unharmed!" The Empress gushed. "Thanks be to X'hal!"

"Starfire? What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay back at the house with your daughter!" Raven scolded her friend.

"Forget it Raven." Nightwing chided her. "I already tried. She just won't listen." The Titan leader then noticed that his angelic friend looked … different.

"Raven, what happened to you?" He asked as the other heroes entered the room.

"Lamia." She replied. "She gave me a parting gift before I dispatched her to hell."

"So you destroyed her Raven?" Batgirl asked.

"I did, but that's not why I'm gray again. It's a long story and we don't have time. Let's just say I came into contact with enough dark energy that it changed my DNA back to its old form. But don't worry, I'm not a demoness."

Batman examined her face from a distance.

"Your chakra stone is still missing." He noted.

"Very observant of you Bats." Slade said as he entered the room.

"What's he doing here?!" Terra shrieked.

"Another long story." Cyborg replied. "Let's just say we have a common enemy."

The Logans nodded their heads in understanding. Terra did not.

"How do we know he's not working for Trigon?" She accused the one eyed masked man.

Slade chuckled. "Would you be my apprentice again Terra?"

The geomancer looked insulted, to say the least.

"Of course not!"

"This is understandable child. Oh and congratulations on your pregnancy. I see that Lamia didn't mistreat you too much."

Aqualad shoved Slade out of the way and ran to Terra. The couple embraced, hugging each other tightly.

"I'm so sorry Garth." She whispered as tears dripped down her face. "I don't know what to say."

The Atlantean held her tightly, as if he were afraid to lose her again.

"Are you OK Terra? Did Lamia hurt you?"

"No." She replied. "I don't know why, but all she did was chain me to a wall."

Raven interrupted. "She was saving you Terra, saving you for her own purposes. You were a lifeboat for her."

"A lifeboat?" Speedy asked. "What do you mean Raven?"

Raven sighed. "Demons always hedge their bets. Lamia was certain that she would destroy me, but she kept Terra around just in case she lost."

"Raven." Bumblebee interrupted. "Are you talking about …?"

"Demonic possession." Raven finished her sentence. "Lamia fled into Terra when Gar killed her."

Garth cupped Terra's face with his palm. She grabbed his hand and tenderly kissed his palm.

"Will you take me back?"

"Of course I will." He replied. "I now know Lamia was behind all this. It wasn't really you."

"How touching." Slade mocked the couple.

"Shut your mouth Slade!" Beast Boy growled at him.

Slade continued chuckling. "Relax Beast Boy; once again I'm here to help you fight Trigon. And from what I'm seeing you and your wife need all the help you can get." He pointed at the large pool of crimson blood on the floor. "That isn't demon blood. It's yours Raven, isn't it?"

"Slade's right." Nightwing admitted morosely. "You two look awful."

"You try fighting Lamia dude." Beast Boy protested. "She almost killed Rae."

"This is problematic." Batman added. "Raven is our best weapon against Trigon." He approached the Logans. "You both need to rest, but time is not a commodity we have."

"The answer is right in your utility belt Bats." Slade suggested.

Batman nodded his head. "You're right Deathstroke." He replied as he retrieved the wooden chip from his belt.

"How's that gonna help Raven?" Terra asked.

Batman replied. "Legend has it that when several crosses were found in Jerusalem by St. Helena that she identified the True Cross by having sick people touch the crosses and that they were all healed when they touched the True Cross."

He walked up to Raven with the wood chip in his hand.

"Is it real Batman?" Raven asked him.

"Zatanna says it is, but there's only one way to find out Raven."

Raven took Beast Boy's hand and extended other her hand to the Dark Knight, who dropped the relic in it. Everyone held their collective breath, waiting for something to happen.

Cyborg spoke up first. "Nothing happened. Slade was right, it's a fake."

As soon as he spoke Raven's body began to glow, first a warm yellow that turned white as it increased in intensity until she was shining brightly. Her eyes opened wide and she smiled blissfully. Beast Boy's body also began to glow. Then just as quickly as it started, the experience ended. Beast Boy looked at his wife. She looked strong and refreshed as did he.

"So I was wrong." Cyborg corrected himself as he popped one of his arm panels open. "Raven, I'd like to scan that piece of wood."

Raven opened her hand. The relic was gone.

"Oh man! I should have scanned it before." Cyborg moaned.

"All that would have registered was that it was an old piece of wood." Batman replied. "I've already analyzed it back at the Batcave. Its powers are supernatural Cyborg, beyond the ability of science to analyze."

"Raven, what happened to the relic?" Terra asked.

"I don't know. I guess it served its purpose."

"Raven." Starfire asked. "How are you feeling?"

Beast Boy and Raven were still holding hands. She gave his hand a noticeable squeeze and he squeezed back.

"We're ready." She announced with a confident smile. "Let's go get Trigon."

The band of heroes worked their way through the narrow passage. They had left the room over ten minutes ago and followed Raven who was leading then through a maze of twisty passages, all alike. She was using her empathic powers to find her way to the monster she once called 'father'. Raven shuddered at the thought, grateful that she now called a very different being 'father'.

The Titans all had their tiny flashlights out, as there was no other source of illumination in the tunnels. The only sound they heard, beyond their own footfalls was an occasional otherworldly growl that periodically echoed throughout the underground maze.

"This place gives me the creeps." Terra remarked to her Atlantean fiancé. Garth acknowledged her remark with a nod.

Beast Boy walked next to his wife. He leaned over and whispered to her.

"Is it true Rae, what you said about all demons ending up in hell?"

"Yes Gar, it's true."

Beast Boy looked troubled.

"So, if Raphael hadn't healed you …"

"I would have ended up in hell when I died. It's true Gar."

"But why Rae? You weren't evil Rae."

Raven turned her head and looked at him while they continued to walk.

"Actually Gar, part of me was. That's why I gave in to Trigon's demand that I become the portal. I did it in part to save you and the others, but I handed the whole Earth over to Trigon in exchange. That was evil by any standard."

"But Rae, you saved the world. You weren't evil."

"But I was stained by it Gar. I was a demoness and I belonged in hell. Fortunately for me I was given a second chance."

Beast Boy nodded. "So what exactly did Raphael do to you? How did he turn you into an angel?"

"Angels and Demons aren't all that different Gar. Angels choose to serve good and Demons choose to serve evil. Satan was once an angel before he rebelled."

"You mean against the big guy?"

At that moment the small passage emptied into another underground room. It was dark with no source of illumination.

"Yeah, I guess you could call him that. Anyway, Raphael healed my soul; he cleansed it of the stain of evil that I had inherited from Trigon. When he did that I ceased to be a demon and became an angel."

Raven stopped in her tracks.

"We aren't alone." She warned the others.

Three young men emerged from the shadows. All three had 4 glowing red eyes.

"Welcome to our realm … sister." The tallest one welcomed her mockingly.

The band of heroes stopped dead in their tracks.

"Rae, you never told me you had brothers. I thought you said that Lilith destroyed her sons." Beast Boy asked her with great trepidation.

"These aren't Lilith's boys. Trigon sired them with another demoness." Raven answered.

"That's right 'brother-in-law' and we aren't too happy about what you did to our sister, especially after all she offered you." the second demon added.

"Jesse, Jared and Jacob." Raven addressed them in her monotone. "Step aside unless you wish to be destroyed."

The third demon, Jared, laughed. "And who will do that Raven? A half angel and her band of mortal weakl…"

Jared was unable to finish his sentence as he was struck across the face by the Beast and was slammed into a wall. The green Leviathan stood between the fallen demon and his beloved, growling menacingly. Jared rolled away and quickly jumped back to his feet.

"Not bad for a mortal." He replied as wiped the black blood from his lip.

"Now we're going to show you mortals how it's really done."

Sorry for keeping you waiting so long and sorry for this shorter than average chapter.

I have some interesting news to share. I have teamed up with 4 other fantastic fanfic authors and together we are going to write the story I have been telling you about: Ganguro. Each author brings a unique set of skills and talents to this project. I am certain that most of you are familiar with their work:

DeathProofHero

Novus Ordo Seclorum

Spartan585

Still Too Old For This

Now tell me you aren't excited!

I'll even give you a little teaser, the first few paragraphs in the story:

Raven lifted her mug to her lips and instinctively blew over it before taking a sip of her piping hot herbal tea. Its effect was soothing and it was a quiet morning in the common room. She was alone except for Starfire who was preparing some toxic alien dish for herself and Silkie in the kitchen and Beast Boy who was sitting on the crescent shaped couch next to Raven, grumbling as he read an issue of Nagima!, his favorite manga series.

Raven put her ever present book down and turned towards her green teammate, and after seeing what he was reading she rolled her eyes as she put her mug down on a coaster.

"I heard that!" He complained without looking up from his comic book.

Raven looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"You can hear me roll my eyes?" She asked incredulously.

"No." He replied. "But you always grunt the same way when you do."

"I do?"

"Yup". He answered as he turned a page on his thick comic book.

I know, it doesn't give much away. I'll let you know when we're ready to begin posting chapters.

And now, mail bag time:

lpwriter4life - "Mary, what a lovely name for a Tamarainian princess:) Even though she is a baby, is she going to fight alongside her mother and father? That would be so cool if she did... and cute:D"

I think she's just a long for the ride. But who knows?

BeastBoyfangirl - "This update was so good! You deserve an award!"

Mmm... mint oreos!

Anon - "Totally LOVED the whole "don't send me to Hell" part and then getting sucked into Hell"

It's always satisfying when the bad guy loses.

The Mighty One - "Your story always brings a smile to my day. I just hope my reviews bring a smile to yours as well."

They do. Thanks!

DarkRapture - "Well, ngh! I wanna see Beastboy do SOMETHING in this story!"

Good things come to those who wait.

Alexpv22 - "I am really, really, REALLY glad that Lamia is dust now, I hated her with a vengeance."

My inspiration for Lamia was 'What if Raven had been 100% demon?'

Demonking101 - "I really hope superman kicks some ass cause he was out for that whole fight."

I sure hope he does. They have 3 demons to defeat now.

yukihane - "Can't wait for the next cliffie!"

Have I become that predictable?

titanfan45 - "You outdid yourself with the last 3 chapters."

Thanks!

ChicoMagnifico - "You made Batman look like an idiot infront of Deathstroke...not cool"

Well, you know Slade, he likes to mock his enemies.

Novus Ordo Seclorum - "I especially enjoyed the scene where Raven exorcised Lamia from Terra's mind"

That was my favorite part, hence the chapter name.

acosta perez jose ramiro - "Heh, I'm sure Batman has the real thing. He's that good and Zatanna wouldn't give him anything he can't use."

You were right!

Wolvmbm - "Nice to see a finale between Raven and Terra as it seems that they've finally gotten to a point of clarity and Terra admits that Garfield's a lost cause to her and that she now has a future with Aqualad."

As many of you know, I do have a soft spot in my heart for Terra. She just needed the right guy!

Hinn-Raven -"Let's just hope that Terra and Aqualad can work it out after all of this..."

I'd say the chances are looking very good now.

Spiritedheart4ever - "Man you almost put me to tears with the BB/RAE LOVE! ... *Blows her nose*,It's poetry I tell you!"

Stop it! You're making me blush!

avandra the mary-sue slayer – "This story is awesome, as well as your writing."

Thanks!