AN: I've decided to break my story into parts. This chapter concludes Part 1, but before you roll your eyes, Parts 2 and 3 are going to be much shorter. I can't believe we're already this far! I've had so much fun writing this thanks to all of you faithful readers! Please continue to read and review. I really appreciate it!

So, here it is, the end of Part 1. Part 2 will begin in a week or so. Until then!

XOXO Gwen

Chapter 18

It was as they had left it before that fateful day, the end of the world. The library stood all by itself, the buildings around it burned to ashes by Slade. It was restored only because Trigon himself destroyed it in his ascension; when Raven defeated him it was returned to normal like the rest of the world.

The entire area had been left completely untouched since then. It was in an old, run-down part of town that no one had the desire to build in. It was surrounded by chain link fences which Raven easily flew over.

Though she could of continued to levitate, Raven decided to use her legs and walk over the barren, ashy ground towards the building. She had a nervous energy coursing through her and she hoped walking would help work some of it out. It didn't help much. She still had a nauseous feeling in her stomach.

She paused in front of the imposing building. The mark of Scath still glared red above the entryway. Calming herself the best she could, she pulled on the rusty handles of the arching doors.

She had sat in her room all afternoon in a vain attempt to contact Trigon. It was funny how that worked. Trigon could torment Raven whenever he pleased, but the one time she wanted to talk to him, she couldn't make contact. She thought of this place, the seat of Trigon's power on Earth. If this didn't work, she didn't know what to do.

The cavernous library was eerie, filled with dust-covered cases of books. There had to be thousands of them, rotting away untouched in this haunted sanctuary.

The last time she came, she had the same feeling in her chest, the same fears about her world's impending doom. Last time though, she thought it was absolute. This time she knew she would do everything in her power to stop her father's plans. If he had any at all. That hope still gleamed in the back of her mind, and while she wanted it to be true, she didn't have much faith.

She had also been marked with symbols of Trigon's power the last time she had entered, serving to guide her and open the passages to Trigon's alter. As this was not the case this time, she expected some difficulty finding her way down there.

To her dismay, as she moved towards the back of the library, the secret passageway lit up, the stone door moving back to reveal the path. Raven looked down at her arms. The marks were there, glowing their sickly bright red.

Raven sucked in a breath. They're still here, she thought with horror. This is still happening. Her head felt light and her legs went weak. She clutched a bookcase to keep herself upright.

She heaved shaking breaths and shook her head quickly, trying to rid herself of this nightmare. She chanted her mantra and transformed into her soul self, her looming black raven swooping through the doorway and down the spiraling stairs.

She flew quickly to escape her growing hysteria. This can't be real, it can't be, she thought pleadingly.

She arrived in the enormous cavern, moving up towards the palm of the hand and returning to her corporeal form. Still levitating, she drew her legs beneath her and assumed the lotus position.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she repeated again and again, finding her spiritual center and focusing her energy on contacting her father. She didn't know how long it took, but it felt like hours before her skin started to sweat. The cavern felt hotter, and smoke tickled her nostrils.

She opened her eyes and found she was in a different place entirely. Rivers of lava flowed through a cave, the mark of Scath carved prominently on the wall across from her. Raven stood on a patch of rock that jutted out from the burning sea below her.

"Daughter," a voice boomed around her. It was the unmistakably sinister voice of Trigon himself. "I am honored you join me."

"Trigon," she spat, directing her words towards the glowing mark on the wall. "What do you want with me?"

"What do I want with you?" he responded. "You are the one who came to me, dear daughter."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Don't play games with me Trigon. The Church of Blood says you will rise again and I can feel your power growing. We both know you can't rise again. What are you trying to do?"

"Do we both know that?" He sounded amused. "Daughter, the prophecy of your birth was absolute. You may have defeated me once, but I will take over your precious Earth, and you will help me."

Raven's heart pounded in her chest, but she tried to stand tall. "That's a lie," she ground out.

"Is it? I am all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. You didn't think you had a chance of escaping me, did you?"

Raven swayed with her sudden lightness. Her head felt thick, her thoughts came slowly. Her heart clenched in fear. "What are you talking about?" she almost whispered. "You can't come back. You aren't powerful enough to come back."

"I cannot return as I did before, but there are other ways," he said devilishly. "In six days, the Church of Blood will lend me their strength. With it I will consume you." Raven's eyes widened. "Your body will be mine, your soul long destroyed. I will not destroy the world Raven, you will."

Raven thought she was going to be sick. How was this possible? Lend me their strength... Raven looked back up at the mark.

"They're going to kill themselves, aren't they? They're going to perform human sacrifice." Raven could feel her hands shake. "That's sick," she ground out.

He laughed. "Human life is insignificant. The entire Earth shall be mine! We will destroy it, daughter. Together we will end the world!"

Raven closed her eyes and shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"No!" she screamed, but all she could hear was Trigon's rumbling laughter. She continued to scream, but suddenly the laughter was gone.

She opened her eyes. She was back at the alter, alone in the ominous stone cavern.

Raven felt like she was going to faint. She flew from the room as quickly as she could, racing up through passageways and stairwells until she was in the library again. She hit the ground shakily, running towards the entrance. She threw the doors open, and stumbled outside, gasping for breath.

The sun blinded her and she fell to the ground, shaking from head to toe. She sat up and drew her knees to her chest, hugging them close as she heaved loud sobs.

Her life was a nightmare. She had hoped and hoped for years that it wouldn't happen, that Trigon wouldn't win, but fate proved her wrong. Raven thought of her friends. How could she put them through this again? She remembered her dream, the visions of their charred, mangled bodies and the sounds of their screams.

An overwhelming dizziness came over her, almost causing her to loose the contents of her stomach. She couldn't help it. She couldn't control herself. The truth was that she couldn't control anything about this. She was going to destroy the world. Again.

No wonder the Mayor is trying to kill me, Raven thought. Her plan didn't seem so crazy now. Actually, it seemed very, very logical.

Raven sucked in a breath as an idea occurred to her. It glimmered in its possibility, a ray of hope in the darkness of her mind. Raven couldn't stand to hurt her friends again. She couldn't bear to obliterate the world she had sworn to protect. She couldn't let her father win.

Raven stood from the cool stone steps of the library. She knew what she had to do.

The sun was still high over Jump City as Raven climbed the steps to City Hall. She was calm and confident in her stature, a result of her numb state of mind. She clenched her jaw and hardened her gaze. She had no more tears left to cry.

She used her powers to open the doors in front of her. The building was bustling with people on a weekday and most had the good sense to scramble out of her way. Raven never slowed her pace as she moved down the correct hallways. Her dark energy once again threw open the double doors of the Mayor's office.

Everyone inside looked up from what they were doing. Apparently, she had made quite an entrance. Raven paid them no attention as she made her way straight towards the Mayor's personal office.

"Miss, Mayor Forbes is on an important call right now, if you could just wait..." Raven could hear the timid voice of a young receptionist trailing behind her, but she thoroughly ignored it. She opened the last doorway between her and the Mayor and stepped inside.

"Yes, it's like I said, I think we need to..." the Mayor trailed off as she looked up from where she was seated at her desk. At first, her lips turned up in a pleasant smile. Then, as she caught Raven's harsh, imposing expression, her smile faded into a look of seriousness.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to call you back." She pressed a button on her phone console, ending the speaker call before whoever she was talking to had a chance to respond.

"Ma'am, I tried to—"

"It's quite alright, Sarah," she said smoothly, eyes never leaving Raven's. "Please, Raven, come in."

Raven moved forward to stand between the two chairs in front of the desk. She arranged her stance to convey that she was not taking a seat. As soon as she heard the doors close behind her, the Mayor began to speak.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" The Mayor's voice was cautious, her eyes calculating.

Raven stared her down for a few moments. "As the Mayor, I assume you know the story of my birth. Of the prophecy that was fulfilled, and how I overcame my father." The Mayor nodded. Raven had given the previous head of the city a brief explanation of what had happened. She was sure it had been passed down to Mayor Forbes.

"Yes," was all the woman replied.

Raven once again searched the Mayor's face. She looked stiff, but Raven had to give her credit: she was a tough woman to read.

"I heard a rumor," she continued slowly, "that you have ties to the Church of Blood."

The woman's cool facade faltered. Raven's lip turned up in the corner.

"What do you want?" Mayor Forbes asked shakily. She was frightened. Good.

"I know about your plot to kill me. Very impressive," Raven said mockingly. "I understand that you've put all of this work into my birthday gala because that's when you intend to assassinate me."

The color was draining from the Mayor's face. She was clearly terrified that Raven would want to take revenge, but she stood her ground. "So you've come to put a stop to my plans. What are you going to do? Kill me?" she asked defiantly.

Raven straightened her posture and looked down stonily at the Mayor. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "No," she began, "I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to help you."