Warning: Chapter contains violent content.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Everything else belongs to DC Comics.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Raven begins to sweat. She has to make a decision. She'll have to move quickly if she wants to save both the kids and the library, but can she save both?
The answer is daunting. She knows that she can't. Her eyes close. 'I have to save the kids, but how can I allow all of this knowledge to disappear? How can I allow these texts to burn?'
"You can't."
Raven recognizes the emotion speaking to her immediately. She rarely sees the alter ego that clothes herself in a golden robe. The emotion is Greed, and she will do anything and everything to sabotage Raven.
"You can't let the library burn. It's not just any library. It's the Library of Alexandria! One of the Seven Wonders of the World! Do you really think you can walk away from here just to save some worthless kids?"
Raven's eyes narrow. "You're trying to dissuade me. You're trying to keep me from doing the right thing."
"But what is the right thing, Raven? Is it just to allow this library, all of this knowledge, to burn? Do you realize what you are denying the future generations?"
"History says the library burns."
"Maybe history is wrong."
Raven bites her lip, looking around. She has two options: save the kids or save the scrolls. There is only time to do one, and if she doesn't pick soon, there won't be time to do either. She knows what ring of Hell this is. It is Greed, the fourth ring.
She is greedy for knowledge. She always wants to know more. She always wants to understand something new. But can she put her need for knowledge above the children? Children who, as she looks around at them, have dirty, tear-streaked faces. Their fear radiates from them.
She may not be the best person, but how can she be this cruel?
Her decision is made. Sometime later, and for the rest of the Earth's existence, scholars began to mourn the Library of Alexandria.
A demon. The fifth ring of Hell is manned by the freaking demon of Anger. 'How in the name of Azar am I supposed to do this?!'
Raven shoots into the air. Maybe the demon can't fly. Maybe the air can be her way of beating the extremely attractive bastard. Why were demons either extremely attractive, or completely repulsive? And why were physical features what Raven noticed at this moment?
The demon begins to taunt her. 'I can handle the taunts,' Raven muses. 'But how can I avoid getting angry? I can't fight fire with fire- not when the other fire is a high-level demon.'
"Azarath Metrion Zin-"
A ball of white flame hitting her in the chest knocks her out of the air and sends her crashing to the rocky ground. She lets out pain-filled moan. 'So… that didn't work.'
"They don't love you. They barely even tolerate you. Did you honestly believe that they cared about you? That they accepted you?"
'Sticks and stones may break my bones but…'
"Words will never hurt me."
A wave of black magic slams into the demon, sending him flying backward. Unfortunately, all the magic serves to do is further exhaust Raven. The demon isn't even injured.
"You are nothing. Your friends know that. You know that. Why won't you accept it?"
All of a sudden, the demon is in her face. "Do you know who I am? I am Amadeus. I am the demon of wrath. You? You are the child of the demon king. You are a devil's spawn who does not even know her name."
Raven swallows her anger. 'If he's the demon of wrath, and this is the fifth ring of Hell, then I have to defeat him. What better way is there to defeat anger than by remaining peaceful? So, to beat him, I just have to remain calm.'
"My name is Rachel."
Amadeus' eyes widen. His expectations were for the girl to blow her top. He's felt her lose her temper before, specifically the times where she drove Dr. Light insane and trapped her mentor in a book for a couple of centuries. He knows that it should've been much easier to make her lose.
He finds solace in the knowledge that Heresy, Violence, *Envy and Treachery should be much harder to defeat.
Raven finds herself standing before a woman clothed in black cloak. She looks much like one of Raven's more commonly accepted emotions- Depression.
"I am Heresy." Her voice sounds like a Basilisk speaking. Her tone makes Raven cringe. 'I have never feared so much in so little time.'
"Then you should know I am not a Heretic, and I have nothing to fear from you."
Heresy's face suddenly twists into something demonic. Raven is reminded of the way Medusa's features are commonly portrayed. All Heresy is missing is the snake hair, but she still thinks that Heresy would pass as a Gorgon.
"YOU ARE A HERETIC! YOU HAVE BETRAYED YOUR ORIGINS. YOU TURNED YOUR BACK ON YOUR TEACHINGS. YOU ARE A HERETIC!"
Raven can feel Heresy's frustration. She knows that passing through this circle will not be as easy as passing through the previous five. She will have to convince the demon before her that she did not betray her teachings. She'll have to convince the demon that she is not a Heretic.
"You're wrong. I've never betrayed Azar."
"You allowed Trigon to rise."
"I had no choice! It was my destiny. I would have gone against Azar had I tried to change it. We are taught to accept our destinies, to accept ourselves. How could I go against my teachings by accepting one of our most potent beliefs?"
"You destroyed the world!"
"Again, it was my destiny, and I am trying to fix that!"
"You have disconnected yourself from your magic."
"In doing so I left Earth with saviors!"
"You've betrayed your lovers." Desperation pours into Heresy's words. Raven smiles knowingly. This is the demon's last ditch attempt to prevent Raven's progress.
"I was confused. I never betrayed them. I hurt them, yes, and I repent for that every day."
Heresy's features shift back to those of a beautiful woman. A woman whose eyes are filled with pain, whose body stance is stunted by the weight resting on her shoulders.
"There are very few that can convince me otherwise when I decide on their fates. I know what you have done Rachel of the House of Nix, and I do not mean the more recent events. You have committed great sins- sins worthy of passing through all nine rings of Hell. I believe those sins will come back to haunt you if you survive. I believe that you will be greatly affected by your foray into the Underworld, but I also know what you can be capable of. I have seen your future, Rachel of the House of Nix. Lachesis has spoken to me, Rachel, and you can do great things. Your future is for you to decide."
Heresy bows her head.
"Good luck."
Gun shots. Sword clashes. Trampling Horses. Pain-filled screams. Sorrowful moans. Shouts of anguish and anger. The sounds of a battle. The sounds of death. The sounds of violence.
Raven looks around. She almost immediately recognizes the battle. It is Antietam- the bloodiest day in American history.
A hand sits on her shoulder. It is not the reassuring hand of her brother Cyborg. It is not the confident hand of her leader and confidant Robin. Nor is it the comforting hand of her sister Lorna. It is not even the loving hand of her beloved Malchior.
No, it is a pressure filled hand. The hand makes her feel like the Atlas- the Titan who held up the world in Greek Mythology. Raven glances up and sees the face of Violence staring down at her.
"You have been surrounded by violence your whole life. You no longer know what the difference between self-defense and provoked attacks is. You are paranoid. You have fought to the death more times than it was called for."
Raven shakes her head adamantly. "I have only killed when the situation calls for it," she whispers. All the while she is desperately trying to believe that it is true.
"And what of the time you locked your teacher in a book? It was unnecessary violence."
"He tried to kill me first!'
"To save you."
Raven bows her head in resignation.
"I regret nothing."
She ducks as a bullet shell goes straight over her head. She whirls around to see what it ended up hitting. A Union Soldier dressed in blue, hits the ground. Raven runs to him, hoping to heal him. Maybe she is really at the battle. Maybe she can save the man whose death she caused.
Her hands hover across the open wound, but she can see his soul leaving his body. "I'm sorry."
It seems like hours go by where Raven is forced to watch the battle that is Antietam. She watches men fall on both sides. She flinches at every gunshot, and cringes every time two swords clash together. The most horrifying moment is the trampling of a Confederate Soldier by a Union horse.
When the Confederate Army retreats and the Union Soldiers celebrate, Violence turns to Raven. "Do you see what I cause? Do you understand my calling?"
Silent tears fall from Raven's eyes. As a Healer, to watch so many people die and be powerless to stop it… Raven knows she may never recover from this event.
"Yes."
Violence appraises the crying half-demon. "Most demons would not bat an eye if I asked them to watch Antietam. You, I forced, and you stand before me with tears on your face. Your body stance screams denial. Are you that affected by this event?"
"It's the bloodiest day in American history," she murmurs. "I don't handle blood well."
He tilts his head.
"You may pass."
Raven is relieved to see the familiar sight that is the Titan's Tower. She is surrounded by her friends, the other Titans. Malchior, Rorek and Lorna are nowhere to be seen however, Raven does see Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, Robin and Terra. That is good enough for her.
"Is it over? Has Trigon won? You have no idea how relieved I am to see you."
Robin stands up at the table in the kitchen. "Raven, we have something to tell you."
Terra joins him with a smug look on her face. "The Titans are replacing you."
Raven stares.
Starfire hugs Robin from behind. With a blinding smile on her face, she kisses his cheek. Raven feels a sting of envy at the motion.
"We just don't think you fit in any more, Rae," Cyborg says. At least the half-robot attempts to be gentle while ruining her life.
"I didn't fit in to begin with."
"Brilliant," Beast Boy grins. "Then you understand!"
"No, I don't understand! I've been here from the beginning. You trust me. You love me. Why should it matter if I've never fit in? You're green, Beast Boy! How do you fit in more than me? Starfire is an alien that couldn't cook if her life depended on it! How can you replace me?"
"It's quite simple," Terra says. "I'm just better than you."
Jealousy flares. Raven scowls. ""You are not better than me. We are equal! The Titans took you in! Rorek and I taught you to control your emotions. You wouldn't even be on the team if it weren't for us."
"Now, now, Raven, reign in your jealousy. It's very unbecoming."
"I am not jealous!" The wall made of glass that faces out of Jump City explodes, suddenly making the Tower very, very cold. "I've no reason to be jealous. My family loves me…"
She shakes her head. "This is all an illusion. This is a lie. It's just another obstacle in my path."
"Maybe," a new arrival says. He is clad in green and Raven automatically knows that he represents Envy. "But the illusion has certainly planted doubts, hasn't it? I really shouldn't pass you. You lost your temper. On the other hand, I want to see you attempt to beat Treachery. He is one of the most dangerous demons after all."
He inclines his head to her and waves his hand. The illusion disappears. "In a few moments, you will be in Treachery. Treachery is the ninth ring of Hell. I won't wish you luck, but you'd better pray that you can find it in other places. You'll need it."
AN: ALERT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! There are only two-three chapters left. My hope is to have the story finish at 50K (Excluding author's notes, disclaimers etc.). This story is almost over. I will probably take a couple of weeks as a break before I start posting the sequel which will be Hero of War (inspired by the song: Hero of War by Rise Against). Until Chapter Twenty-Nine, my friends.
*I used Dante Alighieri's nine rings of Hell for this fanfiction, but I replaced Fraud with Envy. According to A Divine Comedy, Fraud is the eighth ring of Hell. I used Envy instead.