A/N: Ohhhhh my goodness, it has been over a year since I have updated this. I'm sorry! I am so so sorry, and I didn't really know so many people cared about this story. If there is ANYONE still reading this, my deepest apologies to you. I hope you enjoy this next chapter, and review if you so wish. I'm going to try and finish this story in the next few months. Hopefully it'll be done by December. Thank you for the support and again, I am sorry I'm such an idiot and dropped this so abruptly and for so long.

(Dick doesn't think that he'll ever get over the screams that rip themselves out of Jason's mouth after he surfaces. As long as he lives, the chilling wail will haunt him.)

Talia's guard whispered something seemingly urgent into her ear one a few moments after they got to the Lazarus Pit. She informed the brothers that they would have to do the deed without her.

"It was much too frantic last time," she told them, almost embarrassed. "I had to push him in because my father was on our heels, but with the freedom you boys have been given, I would suggest allowing him to walk in himself. It might be less. . .painful an experience."

The trio nodded in agreement, and she let go of Jason's hand. He immediately joined them. Before she turned to leave, however, Talia walked over to the others as well. She knelt in front of Damian. He swayed closer to her motherly smile.

"My warrior," she whispered. "To know that you have such loyal fighters at your side comforts me when I cannot see you."

"You could see me, Mother," he replied desperately.

She shook her head. "I cannot. I hope that you know this is a sacrifice I must make for the both of us, Damian."

He stood straight and rigid. "Of course. But. . ." he trailed, glancing briefly at his older siblings. "You said you loved Todd. In. . .in what way?"

She smiled brightly at the question. "I love no one more than you, my son. And while my affection for Jason is hard to describe or explain, know that it does not rival the bond we will always share."

They did not embrace, though Damian had hoped for one. Instead, she stood and left them to their own devices at the edge of the Pit.

Dick exhaled loudly once they were alone. He put his hand on Jason's shoulder. "So, what happens now?"

Tim threw his arms in the air. "You've been running this whole show! Don't look at me!"

"Someone should talk to him; make sure this is what he wants."

"And you think that should be me? You're oldest!"

Dick rolled his eyes. "You know him best."

"I talked to him once over breakfast food and you think that I know him best?"

"That's better than me! Every time I've talked to him it's either ended in bruised egos or torsos."

"Enough!" Damian interrupted. He pulled Jason towards him, Dick's hand slumping off Jason's shoulder. "Todd," he said with as much civility and patience as he could muster, "we're here at the Lazarus Pit. We are not going to force you in or keep you out. I cannot guarantee the outcome of either decision, nor can I guarantee my - our - father's approval at either action. I do not think you will find what you want to see in him either way, though. Just as we must take your actions at face value, since you never explain a single thing you do, you must take him as such." Damian took a step back, looking to Dick and Tim for support. He could not make out what their expressions meant. "The choice is yours, Hood," he finished anyway. "So choose for you."

Jason closed his eyes and Damian held his breath at the action. They all waited, the room in the air charged with anticipation. When he opened his eyes, they were just a little clearer, just a bit more determined. He turned swiftly on his heels, like a soldier doing an about face, and walked to the very edge. Putting his arms out as if they were wings, he stepped off the edge and fell into the water.

His face broke the surface of the water already screaming. For a few seconds, the other three brothers were too shocked to move, but as soon as they came to their senses they scrambled over to the edge to haul him out of the water. He was clawing at the edge, rabid, and they pulled him up by his soaked clothing.

Jason pushed them off as soon as his feet were on solid ground. He stared at them, teeth bared, for a moment. Then, he doubled over and vomited the enchanted water that had entered his body. With his hands braced on his knees, Jason's body vibrated with pain and rage and other swirling feelings that his mind was too fractured to grasp.

"Little Wing," Dick whispered, inching closer.

Jason's head snapped up. The eyes that Dick were met with held nothing of what he knew Jason was. "Get away from me!" Jason screeched, and Dick stopped moving, once again frozen in place. "Any of you step any closer and I'll rip your throats out!"

Tim let his head hang in defeat. In front of him, Jason continued to shake.