3 am. Raven had once told him that three in the morning was when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. When all manner of spirits and demons could cross over and cause havoc on the mortal realm, he didn't know back then if she was bluffing or if she was serious. Within time, however, he found her words rang true when they had discovered her demonic origins tied in with her father, Trigon. And he supposed she would be correct now. Because the man who just casually walked into their camp was anything but normal. And Robin wondered, at this exact time, with his ghostly attributes and his surreal abilities being so closely tied to the realm of the dead, would could Geist accomplish?

Everyone was asleep, Slade had taken the last few nights of being on watch in the desert, so he figured he'd return the favor. Now, maybe he wasn't so sure that was a good idea as he watched the obscure man enter the camp and stand before him. "Hiding in the desert ja? Like the little beetles or those disgusting spiders? Fitting."

Robin scoffed, "Geist or is it Sven?" In a way he was quite thankful the man had entered their camp, they had found nothing when they investigated the city earlier, and Geist coming to them saved him time. "Come to deliver us a message?" Sven looked at the former hero and Robin could nearly feel the icy chill that resonated around him. It seemed some things really did go bump in the night. Geist ignored him, "Come to the city, they are waiting for you."

The former hero shook his head before looking at the man before him, "Right now?" He was irritated how Geist had commanded something of him, but kept his cool. "Can't wait until the morning?"

"You think she sleeps? HA!"

"You're boss, what is she anyways?" Geist snorted as Robin watched the man lower himself. "Something that you cannot understand." The boy scoffed, "Vampire? Is that what she is? Gotta admit that was a bit of a shock, seemed like such a stretch." The man chuckled. "You think you know so much ja? Muddling around in what Sariel gave you? The portion of the Legacy you hold is incomplete. Useless." Richard shrugged, "I wouldn't say it's useless."

Geist smirked at the boy as he rose above him. "Gather your little friends, come to the city. They would like a word." Robin could laugh. Aurora didn't want a word, she wanted a fight. "Fine." the boy returned the smirk. "Where?" Geist had disappeared, as if into thin air, however his words still carried his presence. "The very land you left your mark on."

When he was certain the man was no longer in the vicinity, he let out a sigh. Being summoned was more than annoying, it was a hindrance, but he expected something like this. When he turned around he hadn't expected to see Slade and Asif standing there. "Geist. He certainly lives up to his name." Robin shrugged at his master. "I'll wake the others, we are going now right?" Asif had pointed to the other tents, and Richard could only nod his approval.

"I doubt she wants to talk."

Robin could only agree with the mercenary. "She never wants to talk."

"Did you bring a bottle?" Slade seldom joked, but when he did, Robin had to admit it was a good one. The former hero chuckled. "No, did you?" The mastermind shrugged. "I guess we're improvising."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Uggghhhh" It was the first thing to tumble out of a Tank's mouth the moment he opened his eyes, although the ladies were already up and ready to go shortly after Asif had woken them. They stood at the ready as if they were prepared to take on the world at a moment's notice. And Robin had to give them credit, they looked as if they could. He felt that perhaps they were ready to finish this, just as much as he was. It didn't take Tank long however to join in their optimism when he discovered they were going to go have a word with Aurora. Asif had asked if they had wanted to pack up, and Robin had thought against it. If anything they could always return and collect their items. But for now, they would take the camels into the city, along with any weapons and equipment they would need.

So they rode across the desert with the night sky above them, to the place where Robin had dreaded the most. And yet, a place he so longed to see once again. He felt at this moment, his heart lift, although the dread still dragged it down to the depths of his soul. What he would see, he wouldn't like. But perhaps it was for the better. For him, perhaps it would be some closure. And on the bright side, his team would see it, and they would begin to understand this threat. That life was a pawn in their game.

"What do you think it looks like now?" he could hear the worry in his friends voice, Robin shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."

When they had entered Sa'dah the city was as quiet as one would think, regardless of the random soldier or civilian that wandered the streets. He could imagine that during the day the city had returned to a more normal setting, even with the consistent threat that loomed over them. A majority of their city was wiped out and still, these people persisted. He saw it for what it was, a resilient stubborn strength. However, they soon found themselves in an area that brought back some dark memories.

He knew this part of the city, he knew these buildings. Flashes of the fires danced in his mind and he could tell that even Asif was affected by the sight. It truly was a land of Ash and Ruin. The buildings were charred by the flames, the exteriors of the buildings black as night, but hollow. All that remained of the city was a skeleton, its bare bones, a carcass for all to see. Another trophy for the ben Elohim.

No one lived on this side of the city anymore. "It's so much, I didn't realize it was this much." He could see the shock in Asif's eyes, his friend who had betrayed them then, Asif would have left them all for dead. For survival, that's how it was out here. But now as he looked at his friend he could only see regret. A large population of the city was gone, Robin had learned afterward that the death toll was close to fifteen thousand people. Out of a city that only had a population of fifty thousand it was quite a bit. He knew it would be something Asif had to contend with each day, just as he had battled the fires for so long.

Robin dismounted when he noticed they had company and soon after everyone else seemed to follow. His team had stood behind him, at the ready, as he and Slade stood ahead of them.

"Well look who actually came?" Geist walked out from a ruin to stand in the middle of the road before them. Robin crossed his arms, "You said she wanted to a word?" The man in white looked to the group before him and cocked his head to the side. "I never said she wanted to have a word." he smiled and Robin narrowed his eyes at the man. "I said they wanted to see you."

"And who is they?" Robin could almost feel the annoyance come off of Slade. The mercenary wasn't down for playing games at the moment.

Geist chuckled in return, "The ones you left behind." The man raised his right arm slowly, his metallic clawed hands looked as if they were scrapping the air itself before closing into a fist. The area became dark, black even, the whispers he remembered had returned as well. He realized then, the whispers themselves were simply just the voices of the dead. The people that were killed that night. All of the innocent people that were murdered because the ben Elohim had decided that their lives were inconsequential. And here Geist was, using them to his benefit once again.

"He's raising the dead." Asif nodded in confirmation and Slade readied himself. His team all took a defensive stance as well. "With so many dead, he'll have an army." Robin shook his head and looked to his friend. "Nothing we can do about that."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So you've finally made your way back, huh?" Sariel leaned over one of the remaining windows that existed amongst the rubble. Her eyes found Robin's form and she took in a deep sigh. This was it, the ending she had been vouching for, just like in the stories, and she knew Geist was only the beginning of everything. "Should I go down? Should I not go down? Would my helping interfere with the timeline?" She frowned and saw the fight break out between Geist and his ghostly army and Robin with his entourage. Again she cursed him for not providing her with more answers, but the more she looked at Robin as he and Slade led the battle the more she gained the courage to go and do what was probably the right thing to do, help them out.

"It's been a while though, what if he hates me?" She frowned at the idea, that in itself could affect everything. But, she so badly wanted to go down there, she wanted to help them out. So she took some of the best advice he ever gave her and followed her gut. She turned from the scene before her and onto the open building behind her, its structure mostly demolished from the fires, and jumped down into the next floor of the building. She would have to go around, but before she left she checked herself, looking for any cuts or scrapes. When she didn't notice any wounds she began to make her way towards the battle that was brewing only a few feet from her.

"Even if he does hate me, it doesn't matter, the only thing that does is making sure this all ends." She sighed, "Maybe it's time he knew the truth of the matter." Sariel nodded to herself and with new found courage she stepped into the fray.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Screams, whispers, and the begging pleas of those who had been burned alive. And it wasn't just the people from Robin's small time here. It was a massive amount of history, resilient souls that couldn't leave or didn't want to. So many of them were brought down by sorrow and many more spurred on by rage. It was overwhelming, more so than any other time he had fought Geist in the past.

The medium had chuckled at them all, "How are you going to kill an entire army of the dead?" Geist had pulled so many to the surface, so many of the dead had risen, now only spectrals forced to wander under this man's command. He had chosen these people to serve as a reminder of Robin's failures during the fires. So many had died here. This entire move was a gloat. A move to make him feel pity. It was something he would not allow. They had killed them, not him. And while he did feel remorse for those who were lost, he wouldn't allow himself to feel guilt over it. But he did have to admit one thing, the spirits were a frightening sight. But they were no soldiers. However, with the overwhelming might they had and the staggering amount of them that there had been, it was nearly impossible to get out of their grasp. Fighting them was just as useless as it always had been. You couldn't kill what has already passed from this world. Again the target would have to be the man in white himself. But where had he disappeared to?

"This is getting ridiculous." he could hear Kate mutter behind him. "You can't kill what's already dead." Robin sighed at the idea that Discord was upset that she couldn't behead ghosts.

"We need an alternative plan, or we will be doing this for hours." The mastermind had taken to using his bo staff, since using the guns he was equipped with would be a waste of ammo. "Renegade, we need to kill Sven himself." Slade wasn't wrong, in fact, he was very very right. The problem was Geist's location. Robin could only nod as he struck another phantom. "Kate, can you fly upwards?" She shook her head. "Whatever this black veil is, it just gets darker if I fly a little higher. I guess he doesn't want me to see where he's hiding?"

Robin frowned, "Can you find him mentally?"

She nodded, "Possibly, I can try."

"Tank, I need you to give Kate some time!" The man in question had lifted a charred burned-out remnants of a car and had used it as a weapon against the specters. He swung it around as one might a bastard sword, keeping himself safe with the car's long reach. But to his dismay, while it kept the ghouls at bay, it didn't ward off them completely. "OK!" he shouted as he flung the car like a football and hit his target, dispersing a group of spirits. "She's gonna see if she can find Geist." Tank nodded. "And I cover her ass right?" Robin nodded. "Right. Give her the time to search." Kate lifted herself from the ground and closed her eyes, her form hovered slightly off the ground. "You better not let anything happen to me." It wasn't just a threat, but a playful warning to her friend. Robin took off to Asif and saw that he, Ksenia, and Slade were also having the same problems he was having. "Not good," he muttered.

"Hey, you need some help?" the voice came from behind him, and for a moment he dared not to look. Was it even possible? Why would she come here? Maybe it was an illusion? But it repeated itself and the world around him came to a full stop. " Hey, do you need some help? You look like you do. Seriously, you're just going to ignore me huh? I guess I deserve it, I did kinda betray you." He heard her voice dim with the idea of betrayal. He didn't turn to look at her but he asked anyway. "Did you really betray us?" It was such a strange setting, the two of them here again amidst a battleground filled with the dead, a ruined city filled with spirits that surrounded them, the whispers, and Geist their foe once again. "I did, but for a variety of reasons." she reasoned. "It was part of the plan, a plan I had to complete. Kind of my whole reason for being here." he could hear the smile on her lips and he turned to face her. "Sariel."

"Yeah, it's me."

"Any more betrayals? Any more schemes or plans?" he needed to know right now if she had anything else up her sleeve.

She shook her head, as a child being scolded. "No, none. Promise. All that I set out to do has been done. I'm now just watching it all unfold, ya know, the fun part. I'm here to help if you'll have me?" He looked at her, truly looked at her then, to try and find any lies hidden within her heart. But he couldn't find any. It was foolish he knew. Maybe it was because he had missed her, maybe it was irrational to accept her back into the fold the moment she made an appearance. It was completely unacceptable. But she hadn't completely betrayed him yet, and she did give him the secondary portion of the Legacy and in many ways, she had been trying to protect him, even when she wasn't around. He couldn't help but look at the positives. So instead of accusing her or telling her to get lost, he looked at his old friend and smiled. "Asif has missed you." She returned the smile at the comment. "I've missed him too. I like your new team. Much better than the old one."

"I'm still mad at you, and I still don't trust you," he said with a smirk. She shrugged as if she was expecting as much. "And I got a lot of questions for you when this is all done and over with." She nodded and gave him an "Ok." before Geist had interrupted their reunion. "Little Sariel, you come out of hiding just in time, ja?"

Kate opens her eyes and shouts to Robin, "Renegade! I found him!" Tank fights the ghouls around her and when Kate frowns at the spirits her friend reminds her that "At least it's not zombies." she scowls at him at the mention of rotting flesh.

The team regrouped and Robin could see Asif's reaction to Sariel's return. Slade only gives him one look before Robin returns it with a nod. Tank pokes Ksenia and asks about the sudden new team member, her only response is "I think it's that Sariel girl." and Kate looks at her with disdain. But Robin dismisses it all for the time being. "Where is he Discord?"

"Right here?" Kate frowned as she was about to answer. She mutters "I guess he's right there." as if all her hard work tracking him down was for nothing. The man ignores them all as he makes eye contact with Sariel. "Little betrayer, what did you do with the brat hrmmm?" Sariel shrugs and Robin remembers the text Asif had received late that one night. Perhaps it really was her who had sent it. "Out of my hands." The area only darkened and the whispers only lingered a little longer in one's ear as the medium's annoyances grew. "If we want this to stop." Sariel's eyes met Geist's but her words were for Robin. "Then we need to kill him." Robin could only nod in agreement. The man in white smirked at the group. "Fine. I suppose I'll present you with a little bit of a challenge myself." a deep chuckle escaped his lips and he looked on at them all, "Let's play children."

Robin had put himself in a defensive stance and Sariel had joined Robin in a similar position but with two guns drawn and aimed at Geist's head. "Like old times. Let's get this fucker!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Asif could not believe it, Sariel, she was right here, right in front of him. And while he knew Robin had told him the truth of her survival, seeing her here and now gave him a small tinge of happiness. And he couldn't say a damn word to her. Not even a nod or a small gesture. But his eyes met hers and for the first time in a long while he felt as if everything was whole once again. He took another breath and turned his focus onto the matter at hand. Geist stood before them all. "Seven against one is hardly fair." the man snorted. "Let's make some adjustments." Asif took a step back and watched as the dark barrier around them shifted, trapping only Geist himself along with Deathstroke, Renegade, and Sariel in a smaller area.

"Fuck!" Tank rang up to the wall and pounded on it. Robin looked at them all from the other side and shouted at them. But none of his team could hear or understand him. However, when Asif approached Robin had mouthed something to him and he understood. "Renegade will take care of Geist. We," he turned to face the team and the ghouls that lay beyond them "take care of the rest of this. We give them time."

Kate just sighed. "Alright. Then time they will have then." Ksenia nodded, "I'll back you up, can't kill these things but we can cause a bit of chaos. If he is controlling these things or even if he just brought them back from the grave, it must be using up some of his power. If we cause enough ruckus, maybe it may give them the upper hand." Asif could only agree. "Then we have a job to do."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was three against one, for some reason that was a fair number to Geist. Robin frowned, it was just them now, his team was locked out of the little dome Geist had created. He thought briefly about the significance of Geist separating them. Sure, it could possibly boil down to the fact that he had the legacy, or because Slade is one of the head members of the Society and Sariel was the woman that betrayed them and delivered the Legacy into enemy hands. All valid reasons for Geist to focus on them alone. But all that aside, other than Asif, it was just the three of them that took Geist down in that temple, and it was them that took on Madaline during the fires. Sven didn't care about his team, they didn't hold any value to him. They were just the extras in a movie. He thought of them to be as useless as the dead he raised. Which told him that time wasn't on Geist's side, whatever his orders were, he had to complete them quickly. Something else was going on.

But if anything, he couldn't let Geist know he was onto something. "So you said seven against one wasn't fair but still think you can take on us three?" the man in white shrugged and Robin was no fool. Sven Reinhard was a prominent and perilous threat. He could only imagine what havoc Geist had wrought upon his enemies in the past.

"So I guess we're fighting this jerk." he took in Sariel's cocky stance and smiled, just like old times indeed. "I ain't holding back this time. Tonight, I'm gonna go all out on your pale ass." Robin's smirk remained on his features as he looked at Geist's own confidant smug expressions. "He doesn't stand a chance."

"If you say so." Geist had said with a shrug, but he was the first to strike. Robin had pulled out his knife, while Sariel fired a few rounds at the man as he lashed out at them, hoping to catch him off guard. But considering this man was a master of death, it was unlikely. So instead Sariel switched her methods up and began attacking him with a variety of techniques. She punched, kicked, and even tried to stun the man. But the thing with Geist is that he was possibly over six hundred years old, giving him time to learn and master as many skills as he had wanted. And martial arts was one of them. Every strike Sariel had placed, every kick Robin had plunged at him was in vain. Nothing seemed to hurt the man and with every movement they made he either blocked or parried. And it wasn't long before Geist had taken advantage of the situation and began attacking full force. Leaving them all with a few more scraps and cuts from the man's metal claws. If they didn't do something soon to change the favor of this fight, Geist would be delivering their corpses to Aurora herself, and that he couldn't allow.

Robin had fought through these types of challenges before, no matter how good someone else was, they always had a weakness. He just had to find it. So Richard dashed out to the left while Sariel took the right. Robin took him by surprise and kicked him in his side, pushing him towards Sariel as she delivered another kick and then a punch that had the man falling forward. Geist was able to stop himself however before he fell to the ground. He turned to face his opponents only for Slade to sneak up on the man. The mastermind had managed at one point to sneak up on the man and put his neck into a death grip and the only thing Geist did was laugh. "You think you can kill me by doing that ja? You wouldn't be the only one who has ever been surprised when I get back up and snap my head back into place." Robin had lunged at the man delivering a kick to the abdomen, while Sariel kicked him in the shins. He let out a cry of pain before Slade let him go and watched his body crumpled to the ground.

Robin didn't know what to expect next, but the laugh was not on that list. It was eerie and foreboding. "You think, that you can just kick me around like that?" A knife plunged into his side. "Yeah I do." he chuckled again before rising to his feet and plucked the knife from his body, allowing it to clank at his feet. "Fine, let's do it your way. No more games." The atmosphere changed around them and the spirits shuttered at his call. It was almost as if Geist had taken in the souls around him, breathing them into his own body and soul. "This guy has power-ups?" Robin laughed at Sariels comment.

"We just gonna let him do this?" Robin only shook his head. "Seems kind of unfair doesn't it?" Sariel could only agree. "Let's get this bastard before he completes his glow-up!"

Within moments, it seemed that Robin and Sariel were upon the man, and their fighting became in sync with one another. The two fought well together, just as they always did. Even when they sparred against one another, they always brought out the best in one another. They made a remarkable team that he could not deny.

However, Slade had noticed that while there were differences before, now the two kept each other in line, each step was perfect as if it was practiced as if they had been doing it together for years. It reminded him of Robin and himself. The boy and his master knew each other well enough that when they fought side by side they moved and thought as one. Perhaps it was not so much practiced on Robin's end but it definitely was on Sariel's. As if she had been taught by... was that even possible? Had Sariel been lying? Of course, she had been. There was no possible way she didn't know how to control her abilities. But if that was true then...

The two were tossed aside by a surge of Sven's power, sending them flying backwards. The two merely dusted themselves off and stood to face their enemy once again. But it would seem that the man was now taking on a more ghostly presence himself. And Slade couldn't decide if he was part of this plane or the other. It didn't help that he had somehow summoned about five larger spirits to his aid. Spirits that took on a more physical form, all of them armed with ancient weapons. All of them possibly from another time, were raised to serve.

"Great, lackeys," she muttered. It was then that her eyes caught the glint of the knife that Robin had plunged into him moments before. Wanting to test a theory, Sariel lunged to the side and grabbed Robin's knife that lay on the ground. But when she went to attack him with it, her arm sailed through his body. She couldn't touch him, but he could definitely touch her as she soon found out as he picked her up and tossed her across the field. Robin looked to her and called out her name. But the girl merely dusted herself off and checked herself for wounds. And Robin mentally reminded himself that she didn't feel pain. She groaned in frustration, "Theory confirmed."

"Sariel." The mastermind had called out to the girl, but not to check to see if she was alright. "Why don't you use your abilities to shift through the current time frame, you could catch them off guard." his singular eye found the five imposing figures that currently surrounded them. She looked to the mastermind and shrugged, "Because I can't control-"

"I highly doubt that whoever taught you to fight this well wouldn't teach you how to use your abilities." She sighed in defeat and wondered if Slade, the legendary Deathstroke, had figured it out. "Fine, I'll take out the five larger guys. But I highly doubt I can do anything about Geist himself." It was a long shot, Slade knew, but he wasn't wrong with Sariel being able to actually control her powers. And as he watched her dispose and rend the spirits asunder, sending them back to whatever levels of hell Geist had summoned them from, he began to wonder. Who was Sariel? He had a guess, and if his assumption was right, it could change everything.

Robin and Slade had decided that while Sariel was busy, they would keep Geist occupied, although every swing that phased through him just seemed to annoy him more. "Are you truly going to keep doing this? Seems pretty useless ja?" The former hero watched with a bit of awe as Sariel shifted in and out of time itself, her skills were in top form, as she slaughtered each one, sending their souls back to the grave. "Two down. Three to go." His attention was brought back to Geist and he wondered why did he go translucent and become untouchable. What would this prevent or cause? Geist seemed to only chuckle, why was he stalling?

"So boring, the lot of you." he didn't seemed to care that the guards he had conjured were being obliterated. "You know I'm amazed she never told you she could control time. That was given to her by us you know. Sariel was meant to be a elite member of the ben Elohim. But instead she decided to waste her little life away and betray the only people that could give her what she truly wanted in this world."

"And what would you know about what Sariel wants?"

Another guard was killed as Sariel wiped in and around the ghastly figure before sending it back to the netherworld. Two more to go.

"I know enough about the girl to know that she is far more frightening than you give her credit for. The lengths she will go to, to achieve her goals is beyond measure." Another guard was put to death, and only one remained. Robin thrust his fist through the man once again in hopes of further annoying the man. "Yeah, I'm guessing her goal is to destroy you."

"Perhaps. Although I do not think they are truly all her own."

Robin was reminded of the him she had mentioned. "You're mad she works for someone else?" He threw another punch and watched as his fist went through the man.

"Sariel was stolen from us, the DNA in her system is labeled as one of our own, created by us. Although we cannot find any record of her ja? Not even in our own files. Interesting don't you think? If she was created by us, then what is she? Who is she? She controls time, she could be anyone! Such an enigma, little Sariel." The man smirked in Robin's direction. The last guard was down and Geist narrowed his eyes at the two men in front of him. "She's also such a problem. See what I mean?" Robin pulled out his bo staff and extended it, automatically attacking the man, he leaped up, and in mid-air he twirled around to get the best swing in. And it hit the man, striking him off guard. However, when Robin went to strike again Geist had caught his weapon, and pulled it from his hands, tossing it aside. "Play nice."

Sariel joined them soon after and Robin nudged her. "So, you do know how to use your powers after all." She smiled but kept her eyes on her target. "Sometimes." Robin snorted. "So if you didn't grow up with the ben Elohim, who taught you how to use them?" She smirked and muttered "You did." before she took another defensive stance. "I will admit, I'm not from here, not from this timeline. I was sent back you see. And I've been holding myself here the entire time. And you're right." she looked to Slade this time. "The person who taught me how to fight did teach me how to use my abilities, why wouldn't he? Would be such a waste of potential gone to rot."

"I did what?" Robin looked to her confused.

"I was sent here to end this, to end the ben Elohim. The best timeline where they are destroyed is when I am here to give a helping hand. It's our only chance, but everything is still reliant on if we can defeat them. If they remain as they are they will only bring more death and destruction to the world. It's time for a shift in power." Slade knew then, regardless of how confused Robin was now, that one day he would understand. Sariel was the next in line, the one that would take over after Robin. This girl he had chosen as his successor had flung herself back in time to make sure things went as they should. And played a part that would gain the trust of the ben Elohim, an enemy she would make through betrayal. Along with gaining the trust of Robin and himself and thus giving them the Legacy in hopes of creating a better future. And a shift in power. Perhaps there was no ben Elohim in the future, simply because she came to the past.

"We need to kill him." she gestured to Geist who only chuckled in their direction. "But we have to do it right. He's like a modern-day necromancer, he can resurrect himself. And if he can't truly die, then we need to figure out how to banish him at the very least." Robin could only nod. What was Geist's plan, was it building up to something? Everything about this fight had told him yes. It was all important in this very moment he knew. But he felt as if Sariel had just dumped something on him and he couldn't simply let it go. "You did." her words replayed in his mind. A realization came to him, one he didn't want to give light to just yet.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

This took FOREVER TO WRITE! Thanks everyone for the reviews and the love! Stay safe out there!

-Fangy