"So," Raven began hesitantly. "The Demon Hunters want me dead because I'm prophesied to be the Dark One who helps Gorin take over everything?"

"Pretty much," Cobra responded with a shrug.

Raven thought for a moment in silence before adding quietly, "The last prophecy about me came true."

"Are you crazy? You defeated Father."

"But I opened the portal and let him enter this dimension. That was the prophecy."

"Well, if I read the Demon Hunter's memories right, the prophecy Gorin actually made was that the Dark One would be the undoing of the Demon Hunters. So maybe you just kill them all."

Raven hid the wince she felt coming. "No. It can't be me."

Cobra shrugged.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of fighting above them. They exchanged a look before rushing up the remaining flights of stairs to find Beast Boy in the shape of an elephant, pressed against the ceiling, which was being hammered with electricity and bending under the powerful hits it was taking. Bear and Vixen stood in combat position. Every so often, a panel would come loose, or a hole would be knocked in the ceiling, at which point Bear would shoot a powerful blast of energy outside before it was quickly patched up by Vixen.

"Rae?" a voice on her communicator sounded.

Raven held a hand up to turn the ear piece volume up. "Cyborg? How does it look?"

"The Tower is taking a beating. Readings are estimating the defenses will only be able to handle the amount of damage it is taking for another fifteen minutes, tops."

"Is there anything else you can do?" she asked, feeling suddenly helpless.

"The Demon Hunters have already taken out the gunners on the top of the Tower, but I am recalibrating the lower gunners right now. They won't do much, but at least they will help. If you can hold them off a little longer, I might be able to set up an electric field around the Tower using the-"

"Do it," Raven said shortly. "We'll keep them busy."

But all at once, the commotion on the roof stopped. There was a long moment of silence. No one moved, each wondering what new horror might rain down upon them.

"Raven!" Cyborg cried. "They're jamming my signal! They're breaking through-"

He was suddenly cut off by a new voice on the communicator. "Greetings, Dark One."

Raven took a deep, calming breath as she glanced at those around her. Cobra, Bear, Vixen- Beast Boy. He had shifted back into his true form and as her eyes met his, she could not look away. There he was. After all this time, after all that had happened, there he was, looking at her the same way he always had. Concern. Fear, and trust. Love.

"Who is this?" she asked stoically.

"I am Vince, commander of this fleet of Demon Hunters," the voice responded. "We have come to an impasse. I am not willing to tire my troops out just to get you out of that Tower."

"Sounds like a problem. Here's a solution: leave. Now."

"Not without you. And you are going to come willingly."

"Am I? "

"Yes. Because we have your friends."

Raven stifled the gasp in her throat. Robin and Star.

"You should not leave pets out where they could get hurt. Giselle seems to think you value their lives. If you do, you will come out of that Tower now."

Raven took another cleansing breath. Not that she needed a clear mind to make her decision. "I'll come."

"You have five minutes." The communicator shut off and they were left in silence.

"What do you mean you'll come!" Beast Boy roared as Cobra demanded, "Have you lost your mind?"

"They have Robin and Starfire," she answered calmly. "If I do not come out, they will kill them."

"No," Beast Boy whispered, obviously striking a dilemma. Raven did not even want to imagine how hard it must be for him to try to figure out what he thought they should do. How could you choose between your friends lives?

"You cannot give yourself up for them!" Vixen snapped.

"Raven, you are our leader," Bear added. "You are worth more than they are."

Raven turned on them as anger flooded her. "You do not get to decide their worth! They are both worth ten of me and I will not let them die for me!" She took another breath. "I will go. I thank you for all of your help, but there is nothing more we can do. I have to give myself up."

Cobra grabbed her shoulders, staring at her helplessly. "Raven, no. Please."

Raven looked back at him, struggling not to cry. All he had done just to keep her alive. And now all of it would come to naught. "I don't have time to argue with you. While they are busy capturing me, get Bear and Vixen out of here. Keep yourselves safe." She glanced over at Beast Boy. "When they have me and my siblings are gone, they will leave Earth. Keep the Titans safe."

Before he could answer, Raven turned into her soul self and flew through the ceiling, appearing outside the Tower. Fifteen out of the original twenty-three Demon Hunters stood arranged before her. Seven lay hurt on the ground. One dead. All of it just because of her. One Demon Hunter, the commander she assumed, floated in the front, with two Hunters, one holding Robin and the other holding Starfire, just behind him. Both Titans were unconscious. The rest of the Demon Hunters made a formation around them, preparing for a fight.

Raven slowly floated toward them, stopping a few yards away. "Let them go."

"First, you will turn yourself over to us," Vince said.

Raven nodded, placing her hands together in submission. Vince motioned his hand and four Demon Hunters came forward cautiously. She watched as they stretched out their giant hands, all charged with electricity, and cringed as she prepared to be executed. Just as they laid their hands on her, the T Tower exploded in a dark flash of energy that sent the entire fleet of Demon Hunters flying through the air. A protective bubble around Raven protected her and she saw similar bubbles around Robin and Star. As the energy faded away, the Titans began to fall, only to be caught by a green pterodactyl, which then swooped back towards what was left of the Tower. Around her, Bear, Cobra, and Vixen were all charging forward, sending blast after blast into the Demon Hunter fleet, which was still lying scrambled about the sky.

The Titans were safe, and her siblings were standing a chance. Raven felt her heart leap as she recognized victory coming. She flew to Cobra's side, sending her own rain of energy bolts toward the Hunters.

"For a group convinced that I should be your leader, you are not very good at doing what I tell you," she managed to cut out between strikes.

"Your leadership skills still leave something to be desired," Cobra shot back.

"If you two focused on fighting as much as you did your witty comments," Bear snapped, flying by to dodge an electricity bolt from a recovered Demon Hunter, "we might actually win this."

Two more Demon Hunters fell under a strike by Vixen as she laughed. "Now this is a sibling retreat!"

The others found themselves smiling, despite their surroundings. But the Demon Hunters had recovered and thirteen still remained, reforming to fight more effectively. They charged the center of the half-demons' huddle, forcing them to scatter. The largest one, which Raven recognized somehow as Vince, flew towards her, electricity in both hands. Raven ducked out of the way, sending energy to wrap around him, but he burst out of it effortlessly. He chased her away from the battle, and although she caught on to what he was doing, she could not stop it. She tried to circle back, to join her siblings, but he cut her off on each attempt. They raced around the sky before Raven shot down into the city, hoping to lose him in the streets. But the Demon Hunter rounded every corner with her, blasting through anything caught in his path. Raven tried to turn into her soul self to escape the corner he was backing her into. As she disappeared, Vince sent a bolt of electricity through the void.

As Raven reappeared above the city, the electricity caught hold of her, racing through her body until she felt limp. She could barely hold herself in the air as the Demon Hunter began racing toward her.

Only to be suddenly caught by a large green whale falling above him. The force knocked him toward the ground as the changeling shifted into a pterodactyl and caught Raven as she was about to fall. He flew toward the nearest building that was still standing and shifted back into human form and wrapped his arms around her before she could get out a word.

"Are you all right? Are you ok? Oh, Raven. Raven."

She tried to fight her emotions welling inside her as she wrapped her arms around him. She wanted to tell him she was all right. She wanted to tell him so many things, but everything seemed to get caught in her throat, so she just allowed herself to clutch to him for a moment. She thought she might never hold him again and now that she could, she never wanted to let go.

But she had to. He did not oppose when she pushed herself back. "I have to help the others. Please. Go back to the Tower and protect the others."

Beast Boy kissed her lightly before smiling his boyish grin. "You can do it, Rae. I know you can." He shifted into a small bird, so as to avoid any stray shots, but as soon as he flit off the roof, he was hit by a bolt of electricity beneath him. Raven watched in shock and horror as he shifted back into human form in midair, electricity still pulsating through his body, and he began to fall.

"NO!"

The word ripped out of her body, like a gun firing off. It exploded around her, filling every corner of the city. Every living thing, Hunter and half-demon alike, paused, frozen in fear at the energy radiating off of that one word.

Raven shot off the roof, catching Beast Boy before he could hit the ground. She landed softly, lowering him as gently as she could. But he was lying very still. Too still. She felt broken. Her mind could not comprehend it. Why wouldn't he move? She shook him a few times, but to no avail. He lay there, motionless, no sign of life.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Would she throw-up or pass out? "No," she moaned, beginning to shake. "No, no, no."

"I warned you," a struggling, gruff voice said behind her. She felt the aura of the Demon Hunter commander. "I warned you not to leave your pets out where they could get hurt."

Raven's body became motionless. Gingerly laying Beast Boy on the ground, she stood slowly.

"You did," she said softly. "You did warn me." Pain. Grief. Anger. Sorrow. Guilt. Rage. Everything seemed to flood inside of her like a stormy sea. All she had done. All she had given, just to keep him safe. And now –

Vince felt uneasy. As a Demon Hunter, he had learned to read auras very similarly to the way demons could. Her aura had changed suddenly and altogether. It was raging, terrifying and loud. But she seemed very calm.

"You warned me," she continued, lifting her hood up over her head. "And I warned you." She turned around, revealing six red eyes glowing in the shadows over her face. Her voice became louder, gravelly and wicked. "You should have left when I gave you the chance!"