Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline and the original character. Everything else belongs to DC Comics. Much of this chapter comes directly from the episodes the End Part II & III

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

"You betrayed me. You obviously never loved me. How could you do this to me?" Malchior's book lies in front of her. She stares down at it. Why is she hearing voices from it now?

"You betrayed me. You broke our engagement. You chose Malchior. How could you do this to me?" Rorek's signet ring is heavy on her finger. She glances down at it. Why is she hearing voices from it? It's never had a mind before.

"You betrayed us. You allowed Trigon to rise. How could you do this to us?" Apparitions of the other Titans surround her. Each one whispers to her about her treacherous ways. Each one tells her of a different time when she betrayed the team. Each one tells her a different reason that she should not be purified.

She sinks to her knees and clutches her head. Tears run down her cheeks. "I'm not a traitor. I'm not a traitor. I'm not a traitor."

"Frankly, I don't know why you're bothering. The odds are she doesn't even have her powers anymore." Robin shoots Slade a disgusted glance. "It doesn't matter if she has her powers or not. We love her anyway."

"Do you? Or do you just want her back to replace my daughter?"

Robin shoves Slade up against the wall. One of his arms presses into Slade's neck. The other has its elbow driven into his abdomen. "Let's get one thing straight, Slade. I don't give a damn about your daughter. She's a worthless traitor. She's a villain. She's my enemy. She doesn't deserve to be replaced with someone as good as Raven."

"Good? Do you not know what that girl has done? And I don't mean trapping Malchior in the book, or driving Dr. Light insane. I mean the other things."

"I don't need to know what she's done in the past. I just need to know how she can make things better for her future."

Jinx cries out as Kole and Herald tumble to the ground. It's obvious that they're out for the count. They're the third and fourth Titans to fall at the hands of Trigon and his minions. Terra and Argent fell shortly before Kole and Herald. Leaving Jinx, Rorek, Malchior, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy to fight Trigon.

"Maybe we should channel Rae," Cyborg suggests weakly. Their morale is severely dampened by the loss of four of their number. They're not even sure where Terra landed. They don't even know if she's alive. They don't know if any of the others will survive this.

"Hang on. Malchior, Rorek, how are you doing with those iron blade injuries?" Jinx demands. The brothers hesitate. They know how bad they are, but none of those present are healers.

Jinx shakes her head. "You two are benched. Don't even fight me on this. I will shackle you to the library if I have to. You're of no use to us injured, and we have no way to heal you. Raven would kill me if I let you kill yourselves."

Rorek and Malchior still are hesitant. How can they leave the others to a dangerous fate?

"Look, I want you to protect Herald, Argent and Kole. One of you should look for Terra. Our friends are injured. Take care of them, but stay out of the fight with my father."

"We'll do it," Rorek says softly.

They immediately move to the injured Titans. Beast Boy looks around at his remaining comrades. "And then there were four."

Raven can feel herself shrinking. She can feel herself losing faith in her ability to win. She doesn't want to show how badly the accusations hurt, but how can she not?

"You're treacherous. You're traitorous. You're demonic. We never should've trusted you. We should've turned you away from the very beginning."

Robin's words hurt the most, but the echoes from the others also sting.

"Worthless."

"Dangerous."

"Traitor."

"Witch."

"Liar."

"Demon."

"Daddy's girl."

The last one may have hurt the most of the echo insults.

She shakes her head, determined to shake off the pain she feels. "They don't hurt me. They don't affect me. They're unimportant. They're the liars. I never lied to them. I just omitted the truth. I didn't betray them. They knew what they were getting themselves into. I didn't hurt them purposefully."

"But you still hurt us. Especially me."

Raven stands, backing off. "I didn't hurt Lorna. I saved her. I protected her."

"Do you think killing Kai didn't affect me? Do you think destroying my beloved didn't make me bitter? Didn't count as a betrayal?"

"He was going to hurt you! I was protecting you!" Raven is pulled into the memory, or flashback. She is forced to witness that unfortunate evening once again.

Lorna, Kai, Malchior and Raven stand in the entry hall of Nix Manor. Kai lays a possessive and controlling hand on Lorna's wrist. Malchior has a protective arm wrapped around Raven.

Lorna glares at Malchior. Malchior glares at Kai. Kai glares at Raven. Raven glares at Lorna. "Are you stupid?" The sorceress demands. "He's a demon."

"We're half-demon, Rachel. Why should his parentage matter?"

"It's not his parentage that matters! It's what he's done."

"Like you're one to talk, witch," Kai growls. "Watch your insults, demon boy. That's my witch you're trying to insult," Malchior snarls back.

"He's going to hurt you, Lorna. I'm not going to let him."

Lorna scowls. "It isn't up to you to dictate my future anymore, Rachel. I don't belong to you. You aren't in charge of me."

"I am in charge of you! Listen to me, please, he isn't good for you. He's going to try to kill you. He's going to hurt you. He's going to ruin you. He'll break your heart. You have to believe me."

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

But Lorna chose to believe Kai. It took several years for Lorna to realize Kai was abusing her. She didn't know he was intent on killing her slowly. She loved him, and chose to overlook it. Raven, however, did not.

"You killed him!"

Raven is silent. She allows Lorna to throw everything she has at her. She is hit with curses, jinxes, enchantments. The entire above are mixed in with physical objects. By the time Lorna is done, Raven has more than her fair share of cuts and bruises.

"He was going to kill you, Lorna. I'm sorry, but I did what I had to do."

"Traitor," Lorna whimpers, "you're a traitor. I hate you. You aren't my sister anymore. I hate you."

Raven swallows. "But Lorna forgave me. She didn't mean what she said."

"Of course she meant what she said. Who tells their sister that they hate them and doesn't mean it?"

Raven allows the tears to fall again. "No. I don't believe it. I'm not a traitor. I'm not a traitor. I'm not a traitor."

"This is where we part ways," Slade says. They stand at a fork in the path. One leads to steel doors, the other leads deeper. Robin automatically knows which one he is to take. "Your road is that way. I wish you luck, but only because I'd like to take the Titans on when they're actually a threat."

Slade turns and runs toward his destination. Robin starts walking a lot faster toward his.

I'm going to find you, Raven, and I'm going to bring you home. I'm coming. I promise.

Starfire cries out as Jinx falls to the fire sprites. There are only three Titans left. It is now that Trigon decides to split them into their good sides and their bad sides. Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg have no idea how to fight themselves.

"Man, I never knew I was so tough!" Beast Boy groans as he hits his head on a particularly difficult landing. "You aren't. I could kick your but any day of the…"

Starfire stands up, a determined glint in her eye. "If we cannot defeat ourselves. Maybe we can defeat each other."

Cyborg nods. "Titans, switch!"

"Raven!" Robin calls out. He can see her purple robes, but he doesn't recognize the girl in them. Upon hearing her name, the childlike sorceress takes off running. Robin, though physically exhausted, follows her. "Raven, please, stop running! I'm not going to hurt you."

A long and hard chase leads Robin to a crevice in a dark red wall. He flinches when he touches the wall to try and get Raven out. Pulling his hand away, it is covered in red liquid. "I hope that isn't what I think it is."

He kneels down and peers inside the crevice. Intelligent, but worried, purple eyes stare back at him. "Raven, I'm here to help."

She shakes her head. "Who, who are you?"

Defeating each other turns out much easier than defeating themselves. Trigon doesn't appear to notice that their evil halves are gone, even though he is already aware of their plans to distract him. He was already aware that Robin went after Raven, and he crushed their hopes by telling them what was left of the previously powerful sorceress.

"Give up on her," he had said. "She's pointless at this time. She has no more powers. I took them back when I ascended. Raven is nothing but a broken little girl now. If she's even survived Hell."

The three remaining Titans stand in a comforting huddle. "What are we supposed to do now?" Beast Boy asks softly. He can feel his hope dissipating. They'd thought Robin would be back by now, that Raven would be back by now to help. They'd never imagined that it would take Robin what felt like days to bring her back.

"Do we still have the ring of Azar that Rorek gave us just before he went to protect the others?"

"No, Cyborg, that is broken. Where is the villain Asteriel?"

Suddenly the trio breaks apart, they'd completely forgotten about Robin's ex. "Well, that's another problem we didn't need," Cyborg mutters. "I guess we just have to pray Robin and Raven get back soon."

"I'm Robin."

"I'm lost," she says quietly. Her voice is small, as is her body, and her ability to wield her powers.

"I know, but I've found you. You don't need to be afraid anymore. I can help you, but you have to let me."

Robin holds his hand out. Raven just barely hesitates before accepting it.

They journey back the way Robin came. Thankfully, they don't have to pass through any of the obstacles that Raven did. They simply had to climb back up to the surface. That was more difficult than he'd expected though.

"Do you want me to tell you a story?"

Raven is surprised by the suggestion. From her place on Robin's back, clinging to his neck, Raven nods quickly. "Sure."

"This is the story of Raven. She was my very good friend, and she was very brave. Together we fought evil. We beat monsters and villains, and we kept our city safe. But even though she knew she was doing good, Raven was always afraid that deep down inside, she was bad. See from the day she was born people told her that someday, something bad would happen."

A tremor hits, cutting off Robin's heartwarming story. The shaking continues, increasing as they get higher. Moments later, a crack opens up beneath them, and fire sprites come flying out. Raven loses her grip, and falls.

"Robin!"

Robin is hard-pressed to find a way to save Raven. His only hope is a rope attached to his birdarang. He uses the maneuver, swinging down to catch Raven just before she hits the ground, and circling back round to the rock wall he was climbing.

"Are you okay?"

Raven stares up at Robin. Her face is impassive, showing no facial expressions whatsoever. A small sigh is Robin's only clue to her true feelings. "You didn't get hurt?" He asks her.

"Robin, why are you doing this?"

"You do remember, don't you?" Her eyes are suddenly downcast. A finger nudging her chin upwards so Robin can look into them reveals utter sadness. "The story you were telling… I can see it. Bits and pieces, I mean. You, our friends, my father… it's all like a dream or a nightmare really. But whatever it was, it is over."

Raven chooses not to mention the nine rings of Hell. Robin doesn't need to worry about that.

"Raven, there may still be a way to-"She cuts off his hopeful blathering. "Nobody can stop him. Not Malchior. Not Rorek. Not Lorna. Not even me. That much I remember. You came down here for nothing."

"I came down here for you."

Angry tears shine in her eyes. "Why? I can't help. My powers came from him, and now that he's done with me, I don't have them anymore." Her tone softens. "There was a prophecy, Robin. It came true. It's over."

"And it brought the end of the world, but so what? We're still here. We're still fighting. We're still friends."

"Look at me, Robin. There is nothing I can do! There isn't any hope. There's no hope."

"Then I guess," Robin picks her up and waits for her to adjust herself onto his back again, "I'll just have to hope enough for the both of us."

The fire sprites put up a hard fight against Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy, but they refuse to show it. Their fatigue, though obvious to each other, is something Trigon remains oblivious to. The Demon King is too busy keeping tabs on his daughter and the traitorous servant Slade.

"We're going down," Beast Boy yelps after a particularly painful blast of fire.

They meet the pavement stomachs first. They cover their heads protectively, and they continuously tumble forward. Cyborg is scratched up, Beast Boy actually receives friction burns, and Starfire just groans in pain.

There pain is quickly ignored when they see the figure standing in front of them. His exploding disks rapidly take out several of the pursuing fire sprites.

"Robin!" Starfire cannot refrain from shouting. The three remaining Titans run to him. "Dude, you're alive!" Is obviously shouted by Beast Boy.

They stumble in their steps as they see a childlike Raven clinging to Robin's leg.

"Raven…"

They try to ignore Trigon opening an interdimensional portal and allowing his minions to take over the galaxy, but the megalomaniac is difficult to ignore. "Go forth and conquer! One by one, worlds shall fall. Every being in this dimension will bow down and worship Trigon the Terrible!"

"So Argent, Jinx, Herald and Kole are all injured. Malchior and Rorek are out for the count because of exhaustion and previous wounds, and we don't even know where Terra is?" Robin demands. Cyborg nods hesitantly. "I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault, but we need a plan."

Cyborg turns to Raven, and smiles hesitantly at the young girl. "So your powers are gone? You really can't help us?"

Robin ignores Cyborg's question, but Raven sends him a trembling nod. "This is it. One final attack. It's him or us. It's all or nothing."

Everyone stiffens. They harden. They're ready to try one last time, but Raven isn't ready to watch. She turns around, stopped by Robin's hands on her shoulders.

"This is your story, Raven. I don't know what happens next, and I know it seems hopeless, but I believe that when the time is right, you will know what to do. Do it for Lorna and Malchior if nothing else. I know they mean the most to you."

"You're wrong," Raven whispers. "You all mean the most to me."

Raven watches as Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy attack Trigon. She's surprised to see Slade come out from nowhere and help with that attack, and wonders where Asteriel is.

She watches Robin throw weapons. Starfire fires star bolts. Cyborg makes use of his thermal blaster. Beast Boy is a mere annoyance by flying into Trigon's ear as a hummingbird and transforming into a whale. Even Slade appears to be useful; he causes the most pain actually, by knocking off one of Trigon's horns.

"I don't believe it," she says in awe. "They're hurting them."

"Did you believe they couldn't, Little Bird?" Malchior asks from behind her. She whirls and throws her small arms around him. He picks her up, and allows her to cling to him. "I cannot imagine what horrors you just went through, Raven, but do not believe anything you were told. You are not worthless, and you still have powers."

"But Trigon took them back."

"He didn't take back what you gave us."

Suddenly, Raven knows what to do.

Carefully, she drains her powers from each person she lent some too. Slowly, she feels her magic returning to her. More than ever though, she feels the comforting presence of Azarathian magic. Somehow she knows that her powers won't be as controlled by emotions when this is all over.

Unfortunately, her draining her friends of her magic saps their energy as well. That allows Trigon to send them all flying back. Raven first runs to Robin, unable to conceal her concern for him most of all.

"Robin, get up, please, get up!"

Her hands light up with their normal black glow. She manages to send a rejuvenating burst of magic into Robin, and hopes it is enough to keep him in the land of the living. "How…?" She knew she'd gotten some of her magic back, but she didn't realize it would actually work.

"You may have retained some trace of my power, but you are still no threat to me, little girl. I am your creator, your master. You exist only to serve me. You survive only because I allow it."

She slumps over Robin's body. He's right. Even if a fraction of her magic is back, how could she possibly defeat him?

"What hope can a mere child have of defeating her all-powerful father?"

Suddenly, Raven stiffens. She stands up. She gains height. She gains power. A white aura begins to glow around her. "You may have created me…" The white aura expands, creating a bubble around Raven. When it disappears, she stands completely dressed in white, with much longer hair. "But you were never my father."

Raven raises her hands and sends a bolt of white energy, pure energy, straight at Trigon. He stumbles backward, glaring at Raven with every degree of hate in his eyes. "Wretched, insignificant-"

Another bolt harms him further. The Titans begin to assemble themselves, even the previously injured ones who probably had no energy and shouldn't have been standing. They all group themselves behind their suddenly restored sorceress.

"Fathers are kind! Fathers protect you! Fathers raise you!"

A final, white, immobilizing bolt stops Trigon's progression all together.

"I was protected by the House of Nix. I was raised by my friends. They are my family. This is my home, and you are not welcome here! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

An aura of pureness shines over the entire planet, over the entire dimension. The dystopian world is restored to a beautiful, albeit dysfunctional, Utopia. Raven sags in exhaustion, and Malchior catches her.

"Raven," Starfire whispers. "That was…"

"Unbelievable."

"No," a smiling Raven responds. "It wasn't. Somebody believed." She throws her arms around Robin but soon releases him to kiss Malchior's cheek. The dragon wraps a protective, and uninjured, arm around Raven.

"Welcome back," Robin says.

Beast Boy peers at her, somehow analyzing the sorceress. She raises her eyebrows at him. "Okay, you're freaking me out here!" The changeling makes the announcement as the city begins to bustle about once more. "The white robe and smile are weird enough, but, hugs? Are you still… you?"

"Blue is still my favorite color. And don't get used to the smile," she slams her impassive mask down again, "because you're still not funny."

"Huh?" The green boy gapes for a moment before flinging himself onto Raven and wrapping her in a bear hug. He squeezes her tightly enough to make Raven's face turn her favorite color. Malchior finally wrenches the boy off of his girl, allowing her space to breathe.

"Raven!" The changeling is still ecstatic. She rolls her eyes. "Quit it."

"Alright, y'all! Four Eyes is history, his ghoulies are gone, and we just saved the whole dang universe! Who wants French toast?"

While Cyborg entertains newly healed Argent, Kole and Herald as well as Starfire and Beast Boy in the kitchen (somehow, everyone is managing to forget that Terra is missing to try and have some semblance of normalcy if only for a few hours), three of the Azarathians rest in Raven's room. Malchior, Rorek and Jinx were adamantly against the infirmary, so Raven made them stay in her bedroom where she could keep track of them.

Out in the common area, Raven makes her way over to Robin. The team's leader is looking at a tracking device, but he turns it off and sets it down when he hears her coming.

"We still can't find Terra, and Slade got away?"

"We'll find Terra," Robin says adamantly. He has to believe that. He has to believe that for Beast Boy (who appears to be in adamant denial), that they will find Terra. And that she'll be alive. "As for Slade and Asteriel, well, they'll show their faces again. And when they do, we'll be ready."

"How do you do it, Robin?" Raven asks in amazement. "Do what?" He responds.

"Keep hoping. After everything that happened and everything I did… How did you still manage to hope it could all work out?" She's facing the window, hoping that Robin won't turn her away.

"Because of you, Raven. You don't realize it, but you're actually the most hopeful person I've ever met." He steps closer to her. "From the day you were born, they said you were evil. That you were created to do unspeakable things. But you wished for more. You dared to hope that you could be a hero."

"I thought it was all over. I thought I had no choice. But now, suddenly…"

"You have your whole life ahead of you, Raven. You can decide your own destiny."

"I guess, in the end, there really is no end. There are just new beginnings."

She rests her head on Robin's shoulder. "Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm choosing Malchior."

"I know."

The sorceress smiles and turns around, almost skipping down to the kitchen. Robin rubs his eyes. Skipping? Did she really just skip? And smile? At the same time?! Her next words surprise them even more.

"So, what's the deal? Are we having a party in here or not?"

AN: Can I just point out that this chapter is 3, 772 words and 10 pages on Microsoft Word? If that doesn't deserve reviews, I don't know what does, (especially since my computer was giving me fits while trying to write and I had to completely rewrite the last scene twice). To everyone who has supported me in any way (Reviews, Favorites, Follows), thank you so much! It's made it a lot easier to write this, and given me a reason to update as often as I have. Obviously this is not the last chapter. There is an epilogue (Six months later type thing) which will be up in the next few days. There will be a sequel, but I am not putting up a time ideal for that).