A few notes:

Woo! Chapter 20! Just 5 more chapters or so to go! This chapter is really long! Buuuut...so worth it! I had been dying to write out what our favorite broody half-demon had been up to for so long but I just couldn't think of a way to organize my thoughts until I started writing. This was really fun to write!

I got really into Dragon Age and I just thought that the elements in this would go so nicely! In fact, it actually made the story make more sense. I was missing factors, and once I put it in, it made the story more workable. Of course, the base for this story was in my head way before I got into it. And I had to change some things to make them make sense.

I wanted to make Raven's reason for not wanting to stay really complex. But, for some reason, I couldn't make it work. Then the answer finally came to me! People who are set in their ways find it hard to change. They're incorrigible. 1500 years ago, people believed that we were the center of the universe for centuries and when they learned we weren't, they didn't want to believe it. 500 years ago, people believed the Earth was flat, they refused to believe that. When you tell someone that their beliefs that had been ingrained as common knowledge has been entirely wrong, of course they don't want to believe it.

On the topic of the multi-verse, if you don't know what that is. I highly suggest looking it up. It's super interesting! I personally love the idea of dimensions branching off of each other and creating another one, much like a tree. Infinite possibilities! That means all of the comics would technically be canon.

Now I'm sorry for the little bit about Terra and Beast Boy in this chapter. I know some of fellow BBRae fans would gladly rip my throat out for what I did. But I'd like to re-iterate: I am not a BB and Terra shipper. But I just had to right that because it seemed, well logical. Also, although I don't care for Terra, I didn't just want to make her a one-dimensional character. That's what the previous chapter is about.
I mean I don't care for her but I thought about it; how would I feel if I was with someone that I really cared about and the person they're still hung up on shows up and ends up living with me and my boyfriend?
Just a thought.
I also thought that the fear of commitment would very realistic for both parties. But I can assure you, they'll get a happy ending.

It also occurs to me that I don't put a lot of Robin and Star in here, which is kind of sad since I'm okay with that couple and they are canon.

I've got a few messages asking for a sequel (I was actually thinking of making a trilogy). And I just might! But, do you guys also want a prequel? Like what Raven does in the five years she's been gone? It would probably be short, maybe 10 chapters at most.

Chapter 20: Blood of My Blood

Raven and the Titans watched as the blonde disappeared towards the T-shaped tower. She turned towards the city and eyed the destruction caused by their battle. Many of the buildings had been reduced to rubble while many cracks and splits lined the ground. The police would be on their way, as well as the press. Again.
Half the city was in shambles, both from the previous battle and now this one.

How could she let this happen? What's more, she summoned fire demons during their battle. That was something she would have to later explain to her comrades.

She was only several feet away from her comrades, who were talking among themselves. Undoubtedly, they were talking about her, earning a sigh from the empath.

Beast Boy looked back at her and back at the remaining fire demons. Stupidly, he approached one and examined it. Without a doubt, they were the same fire demons from five years ago and the green man gulped. The demons just looked hollowly down at the heroes as they hovered idly. They didn't seem to be doing anything.

"Why aren't they attacking?"

"Raven...did you-?"

"I...I did. But, I wasn't in control of my actions; one of my emotions took control of my body and she summoned them."

Raven walked over to one, circling around it and placed her hand near it. Its body let out a low, quiet hiss, much like steam escaping from a pot. Naturally, it was hot but not enough to burn.

"They won't attack unless I command them."

"That's reassuring."

"How did you...? I thought they were..?"

Raven looked back at them, unable to come up with an answer. Her eyes went back to the destroyed city, guilt gripped at her heart. She couldn't leave without fixing it.

"I have to fix this."

"Friend Raven, you do not need to."

"Yeah Rae, you're gonna overexert yourself."

"I'll be fine. Stand back. I don't know if I'll have enough strength, so I might have to use some...other magic."

The Titans looked at each other, but decided to do what she said. They took a few steps back and watched.

Raven sighed before lifting her arms. The buildings didn't seem to forming correctly and the cracks in the earth weren't closing. The crater wasn't popping up and filling itself in. Beast Boy, Cyborg, Robin and Starfire looked at each other again; her magic wasn't working. They were going to step in but she shot them a halting gaze.

She dropped her arms and the restoration stopped and sighed. Her eyes fell to her bloodied wrists and fore-arms. The empath pursed her lips, knowing that she didn't have enough strength to perform the restoration magic. Raven considered an alternative magic, and felt her emotions quickly disagreeing.

'Mistress, I'm strongly against this!'

'I am as, well!'

'Oooh! This'll be fun!' Rage grinned.

'It's alright, I'm not going to use it to hurt anyone. I haven't used it in a long time and I'm just using it to restore.'

'Azar curse us for learning this forbidden magic!'

"Raven?"

Raven ignored the Titans for a moment and her eyes moved to her wounds. She winced slightly as she pushed her sleeves back and took a deep breath. She tightly gripped her wrist and arm, forcing her arm to bleed. The Titans watched in shock as the copious red liquid oozed out from her. The fiery creatures let out hissing, chirpish noises and Raven could feel the shocked and confused emotions from her friends.

The empath slowly stretched her arms above her head and then down. Instead of the blood dripping down, it floated up and encircled her arms. Raven felt a surge of adrenaline and power before raising her arms up quickly. Rubble from the ground reversed, pieced themselves together and quickly climbed towards the sky. Glass flew back in place and melted, while the earth sucked in all the dirt, rocks, soil and whatever else had belonged to it. Cars that were caught in Terra's trap flew back onto the surface, re-molded themselves to their original shape and the glass pieces formed together and dissolved. The cracks in the road quickly sealed, and the ground was nice and flat. The cement on the street pieced itself together like a puzzle and melted, lamp-posts bent or destroyed straightened themselves and re-aligned their wires. Beads of sweat ran down Raven's face as the magic and blood flowed. It was like watching a video played in reverse.

When the restoration was complete, Raven ceased her magic. The last thing she did was wave her arm and the fire demons evaporated before blacking out.

+Titan's Tower+

The enchanter's amethyst eyes opened groggily as the hum from a ceiling fan awoke her. She moved her head slowly from side to side to take in her surroundings. Raven noticed she was back in the infirmary and it was dark. The sun had long since set which made the sky was a dark blue gradating different shades of gray and black that accentuated the shadows in the room. She could see the minute lights from the city in the horizon with her half-closed eyes. Letting out a groan of pain, her eyes slid to the bandages wrapped around her arms.

How long had she been out? Hours? Days? The empath did not know. Despite having just awoken, she was exhausted and the lull of sleep was too hard to ignore. Therefore, the empath allowed the relief of rest swallow her.

+A Few Days Later+

All anyone talked about was the superhero cat-fight; it was all over the news and it was a media frenzy. In addition, wild speculation added to the nonsense of it all, especially when Raven restored the city. The Titans had long since learned to ignore much of the news and garbage. Many of the victims were angry at the Titans, while many others were thankful to the heroes.

Terra had left the same night she fought with Raven. Despite the other Titan's protests, she simply smiled, shook her head and refused to listen. Cyborg managed to bandage her up, and prescribe some pain-killers. Robin offered to take her to Titan's East headquarters, but the blonde refused and stated she wanted to go alone. With that she had said her goodbyes to her team and left. During that time, the Titans had packed away many of her belongings. Starfire was so upset she could not fly, and not even the pudding of sadness helped much.

Raven had been asleep the entire time and when she awoke, the geomancer was gone. Admittedly, the mauve-haired maiden felt guilty that she pushed one of the Titans to leave. That was never her intention.

Beast Boy sat in Terra's room as he looked at through pictures before placing them in an envelope in a box. All her things had been packed, all that was left was for them to be sent to Titan's tower. He sighed. The green man hated to admit it, but he was not entirely upset about the end of their relationship. He should be but, he wasn't and he wondered if that was bad. He moved onto the next box when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in" Beast Boy said in a slightly hurried voice with his back turning towards the open door.

"Beast Boy?"

The theiranthropist looked back to see Raven leaning against the threshold, her arms crossed comfortably over her chest. His green eyes traveled to her arms; her sleeves were rolled up and fresh bandages had been wrapped over her arms. Beast Boy turned back to the box that had pictures of him and Terra.

"I'm sorry. I had no intention of getting between you and Terra."

"I thought about marrying her..."

Raven stayed silent; she didn't know what to say. Had she inadvertently ruin their relationship just by being present? She could feel her negative emotions getting riled up.

"But...I'm gonna be honest with ya" Beast Boy said as he rose from his seated position.
"I was gonna marry her, but it wasn't because I really wanted to. It just felt like I should marry her, since we were together for so long."

"Were you going to go through with it?"

"Nah. Think I'd chicken out, besides that actually kinda scares me" he chuckled awkwardly.

Raven let out a bitter chuckle too which caught the green Titan off-guard.

"Wh-what?"

"Nothing. I sort of agree. Committing the entirety of your whole life to someone seems like a lot."

Beast Boy was actually quite relieved to hear that from the dark-haired enchantress. That got him curious; what did she think of relationships and love?

"Hey, what do you think of...relationships 'n stuff?"

"Me?"

"Yeah?"

"Hm..." Raven put lots of thought in this question. "I have my own views."

"I don't mind hearing them."

"I'd prefer not to speak of them, some other time perhaps."

"Okay" he said shrugging.

"Hey Rae?"

"What is it?"

"That time in the infirmary...you were actually gonna tell me what you've been up to, weren't you?"

"Yes, had Cyborg not interrupted."

"At this point, I don't know if I care anymore. You just put up wall after wall..."

"Garfield..."

He looked up at her. She never addressed him as that, not even Terra called that in their years together. Beast Boy's heart quickened; he didn't know if he liked being called by that. But, he got the feeling that they'd be talking for a while, so he motioned for them to take a seat on the bed. Raven looked around the room; it was bare aside from all the dresser, bed and all the boxes packed with all the blonde's things. After finishing her quick scan, she sat down next to the green Titan.

"I guess I should start from the beginning..."

Beast Boy gave her his full attention. He knew this was going to be hard for her.

"Five years ago...I banished Trigon from this realm but my soul was still linked to his. He is blood of my blood. I couldn't break free of it, so when he disappeared, I went with him."

"Wait..you were trapped with that monster! Where did you guys go?"

"I don't know. I was dragged into another dimension or space with him, and there we fought for what felt like an eternity. Trigon was, of course, in a fury that I, his daughter, had stolen his victory. His powers had weakened when all of you fought him, unfortunately, so did mine. There we were, locked in eternal conflict. He was still too powerful and I would've lost many times over. I was tired and I foolishly dropped my guard when he attacked. I got hit and now, I have a scar on my back."

Beast Boy recalled the night he had seen the scar first-hand. A shiver went down his spine.

"Does it...does it hurt?"

"Every now and then...but I'll live."

"So what happened next?"

"Well, his attack was so powerful that it tore a rift in the dimension. He saw his chance to escape but I managed to slip through the tear and sealed the rift before he could escape. I don't know how long he'll stay in that world and I don't care. I didn't know where I was and I was so heavily injured that I was absolutely sure I was going to die. I didn't, of course" Raven laughed bitterly as she stretched her legs.

"I somehow ended in another dimension, and I was picked up by these people. They were...oddly nice" Raven smiled, her eyes downcast.

'She...looks so sad...'

"It was odd; it was like being flung back in medieval times. People used swords and shields and catapults. Anyway, these people were in an on-going war for two centuries. Even though, they were kind of...barbaric and primitive, I respected them. They were wild, passionate and free. My powers weren't working at that time, so they taught me how to hunt and fend for myself. I was there for a while, several months and I found comfort in them somehow. But..."

"What is it?"

"Something that night was making our mounts restless. We heard their screams and whatever it was tore them to pieces, so half the group went to go investigate. But, it was an ambush to separate the group and half the men were killed there while the ones who stayed behind were slaughtered. I stepped outside the tent and saw a corpse of a child I had known. He was a sweet, but candid boy. I got hit in the head and fell, watching as these men dressed in heavy metallic armor slaughtered these people. I assume they thought I was one of them. I was so angry and so scared that my powers hadn't come back. I wanted these people to pay, make them suffer, make them bleed, cry out to their god for mercy because I had none."

Beast Boy looked at her, unable to make out what he was hearing.

"That night, I broke an ancient Azarathian law: to never take a life, but I would break that law many times. Anyway I was lying there bleeding, and for some reason, I felt like I could do something after seeing all that blood. I was grabbed by someone with a dagger but I managed to push them off, took their dagger and sunk the blade into his neck. I cut my hands on his blade in the process and my hands were bleeding. The whole clan had been killed, so it was just me and those men who slaughtered my friends. I would rather die than be captured, and the anger just flowed through me. That was all it took; my blood had become a medium and I used it as a weapon. When I snapped out of it, my camp had burnt down, everyone was dead and I...covered in their blood."

The green man had no words.

"It...it was in self-defense. You didn't have a choice."

"I tell myself that plenty of times, but that won't bring back all those people. My original powers still had not returned, so I figured I'd look for a way. I went to grand libraries, read scroll upon scroll, to learn what I could. I learned a great many arcanenums and even earning the appraise of several clerics and mages. I was approached one day by a leader of a mercenary group who had heard a great deal about me and recruited me into his group. The magicians even told me about blood magic."

"Blood magic?"

"It's a very powerful form of magic. The very same magic that I used to kill those men and the one that I used today to restore. It's very dangerous though."

"Just the name of it sounds dangerous."

"Many would consider it dark magic and forbidden. Blood magic isn't just dangerous to the user but others. You can bend and control other to your will. During my travels, I met many magically gifted people who were addicted to using using blood magic. Some use it to enhance their abilities while others use it blatantly. Nothing good came out of it; I have not once seen blood magic used for good purposes. It can also draw spirits to you and possess you. Fortunately for me, I cannot be possessed by such spirits. Anyway, I've known people who resorted to blood magic in life-death situations who became possessed and went on a rampage. They are no longer themselves, their souls twisted and corrupted from the spirit and they become abominations, monsters."

"How do you help them?"

Raven's eyes looked downtrodden. This was a difficult subject for her.

"You don't. They're so far gone, they must be put down."

"That's god awful! Then why did you use it today?"

"I wanted to help. I couldn't leave the city like that" she said sheepishly.

"Buildings and cars and things are replaceable, Rae. But, not people."

She looked up at him before looking back down.

"So why did you join this mercenary group?"

"I joined because I wanted to learn more. How selfish of me. There I learned more; they taught and honed my skills in hand-to-hand combat, weaponry and my old magic was starting to return. I was stupid and proud because I was the perfect assassin; my powers made it near impossible for me to be seen or heard. The guild fed me knowledge while fueling my need for vengeance. I was beginning to become less human, I think. It was a year I worked for them, until I stumbled on a conspiracy and the guild turned on me. I felt so betrayed. I used my skills to take them all out, took all their money and covered my tracks. I couldn't let anyone know who I was."

"I even became a soldier in a war, but that's a story for another time. At that point, I was so disgusted with myself, that I decided to leave again. My magic had finally become strong enough to where I could travel dimensions. But, each dimension I visited brought me pain; each one had so much death and destruction."

"They can't have been all like that...could they?"

Raven stayed silent. In truth, she had traveled so many worlds, she didn't know if any reality didn't end in blood. Part of her thought that this all some dream that she hoped she'd wake from.

"Oh...right. Where was I? Oh yes, my dimensional hopping. I traveled through so many worlds. I have seen so many outcomes; things that are, things that were and some things had not yet come to pass. The only solace I got was that learning about rare new things and learning about new magics."

"So how did you learn about the...thing you do? Like, seeing the future and dimensional manipulation and all that shiz?"

Raven leaned over, her arms resting on her lap. Her purple orbs staring blankly into the distance.

"That initial attack from Trigon had drained my powers. But with time, they returned and I think that I was able to absorb some of his power. It's just a guess, of course. I had to travel many more worlds before I could find actual help. While I traveled through the dimensions, I was able to meet people who understood spatial manipulation. Fortunately for me, I was a natural at it but I fell into a deep despair. The only reason I kept going was because I felt as though I was slave, akin to Sisyphus."

"Who?"

Raven opened her mouth to answer but decided to get back on topic.

"I went from world to world, unsure where my home dimension was."

"Did you ever think of coming back?" Beast Boy finally spoke.

"I did. But you see, it was hard. Trying to find our dimension is like going through a CD or iPod on Shuffle, er a needle in a haystack. Some dimensions are different, some are so similar that you could swear its the one until you're three-quarters in."

"Anyway, go on."

"I've seen dimensions of you, of the Titans, everyone being killed left and right. I've seen worlds where I killed you. There were worlds where you kill me, where the Titans turn on each other. One time I was observing the world, and you attacked me."

"Raven. That wasn't me."

"I know, it gets harder and harder to remind myself after every encounter."

"Wait...how can two of you be in the same time? I thought..."

"Hn? Oh you see. That's time; the multi-verse theory works a little differently. There are dimensions were you exist and dimensions where you don't exist. It's...very difficult to explain."

"Many dimensions seemed to just blend together. Some of the dimensions were so closely similar that their differences we that I could have sworn that they were this one. When I found it was not, I left. It eventually just became routine. Hell, the differences were so minute sometimes, I wished it was this world. But...seeing this world...I don't know what to make of it. It feels just all the others. It seems happy but it's all ephemeral and just fleeing."

"So...you think this isn't the world you were looking for? Your home?"

"There isn't any reason why I should think it is."

Beast Boy grabbed her hand, and he gave her a long concerned look. Hearing everything, he looked into her deep amethyst eyes. He couldn't imagine going through all that alone. How she managed to go through all that and continue was a god-damned miracle.

"Is that why...you're leaving?"

Raven looked down. She had been like this for so long, she didn't know how to be anything else. Her beliefs were so ingrained that she believed she was incorrigible.

"Yes."

"Bullshit! You're not leaving!" Beast Boy nearly shouted as he grabbed her shoulders.

The sudden action surprised the empath. He was so passionate, free and wild. Much like the warrior tribe she had been saved by long ago. She hated herself for always getting attached. No, she couldn't afford to get attached. She hadn't even mapped one-tenth of all the dimensions and the number of dimensions were growing. But a small part of her genuinely believed that this was the world.

"Raven, you can't go on living like that. That's not living."

The empath turned her head away, she could not meet his eyes. Besides why should she stay? She was like the angel of death, she brought so much death and destruction in her wake. Rubbing her arms, the empath stayed silent.

"Are you going to tell the others what you told me?"

"You can tell them. It's not as though I'll stay long. "

"What if you're wrong? What if this is the world you're look for?"

In all honesty, she had never thought about it. Her search took her far and wide. The empath assumed she would search her whole life for the original dimension she resided in. Best case scenario to her was that it existed, worst case, it had converged and assimilated with another, thereby disappearing. She remained silent and he sighed.

"Now that you know what I've done...are you afraid?"

He had to admit; this Raven was terrifying. From blood magic to foresight; to darkness manipulation and pyrokinesis; controlling Trigon's fire demon army; spacial manipulation and whatever else she had learned.

"Raven...you're still you. Nothing's gonna change that. You're not that person anymore, you changed."

Raven gave him an acknowledging look.

"Does this mean you'll leave?"

"I have to."

"Raven...don't go."

His voice was calmer than his previous outburst but as his words were as passionate. Raven had not sensed such emotion in a long time, not even in her travels. Somehow, this Beast Boy was an iota different than the others.

At first she dismissed his outburst because of his Terra's departure. But this one, seemed genuine.

He slowly retrieved his hands when he heard no response from the empath and sat defeated on the bed. They sat like that for a few moments before the empath rose to leave. She on the threshold when she paused.

"I'll...consider staying here."

End.

So what'dya think? Lemme know! :)