AN: Let me just clear something up. I had a guest reviewer ask me how Raven couldn't tell Asteriel was a traitor if she read her mind, well; Raven never actually read her mind. She did not shift through Asteriel's memories. All she did was scan Asteriel's current aura and emotions for any sign of danger. She found none, and so said that Asteriel wasn't a danger. There is also mention of Raven being unsurprised about Asteriel's betrayal, and really, when would Raven ever be surprised by betrayal? That girl just expects people to turn their backs on her. Does that clear stuff up?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Everything else belongs to DC Comics.

Chapter Twenty-Three:

"Stop, rewind and start from the very beginning," Robin orders. Raven swallows, "that's a really long story, Robin."

The Boy Wonder shrugs in response. "I think we all need to hear it."

Raven nods. "It may be easiest just to show you."

"Mama, who was that?" A small child with purple hair asks, running up to a taller woman that is her older image. The woman stares into the distance, watching the retreating body of a man dressed in monk's robes. She shakes her head, clearing her thoughts. "No one of importance, Rachel."

"Mama, I told you to call me Raven!"

Arella smiles, hugging the young girl. "I know what you wish to be called, my child, but I also know who you are. Permit your mother her imperfections. Where is your sister at? Dinner is almost ready."

"Lorna's playing with Rory and Mal. I tried to get her to come in for supper, Mama, but she wouldn't listen to me, and Rory was no help."

"Well, why don't you go invite Rorek and Malchior into dinner as well? Maybe that way Lorna will come." Raven smiles widely and skips off back to her friends and sister, pleased to have a task to complete. Worry lines appear on Arella's face. "Oh, Azar, how am I supposed to save her? Either of them?"

The Titans stare at her. "What was that?" Terra asks.

"That was the very beginning of my story. The man my mother was talking to was a monk of Azarath, come to tell Arella that I would eventually be taken away from her for the city's protection. They intended to train me in my magic, so that I would be unable of touching my demonic side."

"Rory and Mal?" Cyborg asks chuckling. Rorek rolls his large gray eyes in annoyance, and then thumps the back of Cyborg's head. "She was about four in that memory, Cyborg, with the maturity level of a ten year old. She called Malchior and I by nicknames because she did not wish to mispronounce our full names."

He smiles gently at his companion. "Continue, Raven."

"You can't take her away from me!"

Arella stands in front of her daughter, now several years older though the years have not aged her face. The only exception is additional worry lines on her forehead, and crinkles from smiling at her eyes. The girl behind her looks to be about ten now, but is obviously much more mature than that.

"Mother, step out of the way." Arella shakes her head, not budging from her spot. Rorek steps forward. He pulls Arella out of the way and allows Malchior to pull Raven into his side. "You will not be taking Raven from this room."

The monk scowls in disbelief. "The girl is a menace, the antagonist in a dark prophecy. She must be trained."

"Except you don't intend to train her, you wish to drain her magic! This goes against all of Azar's teachings. My brother and I are capable of teaching her control," Rorek says calmly. He has always been the better negotiator. Malchior prefers to just charge in swinging.

Malchior snarls, allowing a vicious growl to be released from his chest. "She is not the antagonist! She is the victim. How dare you suggest that she actually wishes to bring death to a planet? To a realm? Remove yourself from my sight, before I ingest you!"

The monk quickly scampers away and Malchior looks down at the sorceress in his arms. "No one will take you from us."

She whimpers, burying her head in his chest. Malchior glances at Rorek across the room. The mage crosses to them and wraps his arms around her from behind. The girl in their arms quickly calms. "Don't let them drain me."

"Never," Malchior and Rorek vow reverently.

"The next memory is quite… unbelievable. It takes place many years after the previous one, and you need to understand that tensions were beginning to run high on Azarath. My betrothal to Rorek had just been announced, and many were unhappy about it. It is the cause of the animosity you saw between Malchior and I in the very beginning. The aftermath of it was centuries of pain and loneliness for us both. Even Rorek could not ease my mind."

"You filthy little witch! I have stood by you, protected you, taught you and loved you. You repay me how? By promising to bond to my little brother?"

Malchior backhands her, sending Raven flying back into the castle wall. The sorceress groans. "You have to listen to me, Mal! I didn't… it wasn't my choice. He's my best friend but he isn't- he isn't you."

Tears well up in her eyes. Malchior turns away. "Am I supposed to believe that? I've seen him comfort you. I know what women are like. You are nothing to me anymore, nothing. That monk was right. You're just a means to an end, an antagonist to a story, the villain in a fairy tale."

A teenaged Raven gasps. The hurt she feels is shown on her face. "How can you say that? How can you believe that of me? Do you not know me better than that?"

"I thought I did. I thought I knew you. I see now, that I never knew you at all."

He stalks toward her, like a cat hunting its prey. In a swift movement he holds her up to a wall, his hand wrapped around her neck. "You are worthless. Why not kill you now and save billions of lives?"

"Please," she whimpers. The tears fall down her cheeks, landing on his hand. He doesn't even flinch. "You are nothing."

The fear disappears. The pain fades. A burning, red hot anger replaces those emotions of betrayal. A wave of black magic sends Malchior flying away from her. The girl rubs her throat as she gulps in air.

"I'm nothing, am I?" She echoes. Her voice is cold. The warmth that previously enveloped the girl was gone completely. She summons a large book. The book is white with silver embellishments. Inside the book are all of their adventures, each and every one of them detailed with painstaking clarity.

"You were my teacher, my lover and my friend. You were my confidant, my advisor and my ally. Now you are my enemy, my adversary and a traitor. Now you are nothing."

Malchior stares at her in horror, the situation becoming unnervingly clear. He knows exactly what the little demoness is about to do. He knows what his punishment will be, and he bows his head. His acceptance is clear; he understands that he deserves every bit of it.

"Eldrion en lenthriell val solan eeris nor!"

"I don't know how much that explains," the sorceress murmurs. Exhausted, she collapses on Rorek's lap, resting her face in the crook of his neck. He wraps his arms around her instinctively.

"It does explain quite a bit," Robin admits. "I'd suspected that you had some kind of darker ancestry. Your magic just seemed to be exactly that, dark."

"The children should not pay for the sins of their fathers," Terra whispers. Beast Boy smiles weakly at her. "So?" He asks. "How do we stop this? Y'know, we always have to defeat the big bad. Seems like this time that big bad is Trigon the Terrible."

When his teammates remain silent, beast Boy swallows. "I mean, we can defeat this guy, right? Send him back to whatever ring of Hell he came from? We have to beat him. We can't just hand Raven over and say screw the planet, there's no way for us to help. So, how do we stop this?"

Raven sighs in disbelief. The mage holding her hugs her tighter. Her body sags in resignation. His tightens in anticipation. 'Are you okay?' His mind brushes against her own. 'No, I'm not, but I've got no choice. I have to put on the front that I am. Shall you tell them or shall I?' He strokes her hair. 'I will.'

"We don't."

AN: This is the beginning of the end my faithful readers.