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

Previously on Heroes of War:

"You must pass through all nine rings of Hell to return to Earth as a pure being."

"Seven virtues, seven sins…this must be the last gate."

"Seven is an extremely magical number."

"Or you could bring her back."

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

"You piece of shit! You fricking bastard!" Cyborg quickly grabs Jinx's arms, holding her back. Slade would not be in one piece once Jinx is through with him. And if there is any chance of bringing Raven back… Cyborg has to allow him to speak.

"Go on," Robin orders gruffly, trying to ignore the white-haired girl behind his archnemesis. (Though, he could consider Asteriel his archenemy at this point.)

"Raven can be brought back, though she may not be the same."

Ghosts of Malchior, Robin and Rorek circle her. They taunt her and caress her. They manipulate her into believing they love her, and then they crush her hopes.

Slowly, Raven pushes the images of Robin and Rorek away. They dissipate, allowing her some form of peace. Malchior, always her biggest point of contention, remains. The dragon mage wraps his arms around her.

Stricken, and extremely confused, Raven pushes away from him. She shakes her head adamantly before uttering her next words, "I promised to be virtuous."

"And they expect you to rescind your promise. We expect you to fail. The only way to leave here is to tell me no, and you aren't strong enough to defy me."

Raven raises her head. She meets Malchior's gaze. "Oh? Really?"

"Really."

"You aren't real. My Malchior would never ask me to betray an oath. You are not real. You do not exist. I am telling you no."

"Only one of you may come."

"No deal!" Beast Boy is outraged- as are his teammates. "We all care about Raven. We all go after her." This may be the changeling's first and only act of defiance toward Slade, but somehow everyone in the conversation gains a new respect for him- including Slade and Asteriel.

"As… inspiring as your desire to save your friend is," Asteriel begins, "really, only one of you can come. There are certain things that must happen for this to work. Whoever you choose will become an embassy. They will literally walk through the flames of Hell to retrieve Raven. Only one of you may come, and they may not survive."

Herald scowls at her. The distaste is mutual however as Asteriel's upper lip is curled in disdain. "And your apprentice?" The darker hero asks. "Do you expect us to work with her?"

"No. I expect you to refrain from demolishing her." Slade tilts his head, pondering the conversation. He knows the obvious choice, but the clear choice isn't as clear to the Titans as it is to him. Then again, Slade's analytical mind allows him to see things that most others would fail to see.

Robin steps forward at the same time as Malchior. The two men glare at each other. "Please," Robin speaks directly to him, "you can take my share of Raven's magic. I have a feeling Hell would reject it anyway. I need to do this."

Malchior slowly looks Robin over. The corner of his mouth uplifts. "You will bring her back to us."

"Would it not make more sense to send Friend Malchior to Raven? Would he not be of more help to her?" Starfire asks. Malchior shakes his head lightly, moving to stand next to Rorek. The brothers exchange glances. "No. Raven needs Robin. Send him."

It is in this moment that we skip Raven's journey through the ring that is Gluttony. Take the time to acknowledge that the sin of Gluttony means to over-indulge in food, drink or wealth. It is difficult to believe that Raven is truly gluttonous in any manner. As such, we do not know how Raven committed Gluttony. We will instead move on to the fourth ring of Hell: Greed.

The purple-haired girl stands in the middle of the Library of Alexandria. Around her are refugees from the battle that rages on in the world outside the library. Most of the people in the cavernous room are small children. All have tear tracks on dirty faces.

Raven swallows, looking around. All she wants to do is read. She wants to read every single thing in that library because she knows that it will all be lost after the impending fire. It is obvious, however, what she must do.

She has two options. She can save the knowledge, or she can save the people. Is she so desperate for knowledge that she would condemn the people?

Yes. She is.

AN: So... it's been eleven days and you have no idea how sorry I am! I looked back at Chapter Twenty-Six and I realize the ending was a cliffhanger. This is also a cliffhanger but tomorrow is Friday... so have hope? Basically, I had to usher for a school play (which meant I was at school from 7:30 in the morning to 10:30 at night last Thursday and Friday) as well as having an Academic Challenge meet on Saturday. That's all in addition to school work and Girl Scouts.