SURPRISE! To anyone actually reading this, yes, I know that it's been literal years. I'm not sure if I'll actually continue this story because it's been so long, but I was going through some old files on my computer and found the beginning of Chapter 6 after all this time. So, I thought it was fair to share it with you, because I know that some of you were super dedicated and I really appreciate you taking the time to read my first ever FanFiction :)

Chapter 6

I woke up screaming. Sweat dripped from my forehead as I glanced around wildly. I tried to sit up quickly before realizing I had a slicing headache right above my eyes. I gasped from the pain as I sank back down into the bed. I recognized the bed to be my old bed in my old room after a second of tying to calm my breathing. Gar came rushing in with a mug in his hand, spilling what looked to be tea all over the place.

"Awh Rae, I leave for five minutes and of course you wake up when I'm gone." He sighed as he put the cup down on my dresser. I latched on to his arm as soon as he was in my reach, glad to see his face, even if it did look a little concerned. He laid down next to me on the bed and put his strong arms around me. We stayed like that for a few minutes. Peaceful.

"What happened?" I asked, grudgingly breaking the silence and speaking through my headache.

"Well," he sighed. "We found you in some abandoned warehouse downtown. You were unconscious."

"How long have I been out?"

Gar glanced at his watch. "At least ten hours."

"Where's Azura?" I whispered, even though I was afraid to know the answer. I couldn't remember much from the day before, but I did remember seeing Azura, then feeling my father's presence for the first time in years.

"Rae, when we found you, the whole warehouse was empty. And believe me, we checked the whole area. We were all there, Nightwing even called the police, but still nothing."

"Garfield." I whispered. "I saw her."

"What?" Disbelief was in my husband's eyes. He looked as if he so desperately needed to hear good news. It broke my heart that the news I had certainly wouldn't help his stress.

"I saw her. In the warehouse before you and the others got to me... But she wasn't Azura anymore. Something is very wrong."

"What do you mean, Raven? Talk to me." Deep down, I felt that Gar already knew what I was getting at. He just didn't want to believe it. I didn't blame him.

"My father is back."

...

"Okay, say it one more time." Nightwing demanded as he rubbed his temples, trying to make sense of all that was going on. I rolled my eyes; this was at least the third time explaining what had happened in the warehouse.

"Okay. I went in the warehouse. Azura was standing right in front of me, but when she spoke it was my father's voice that came out of her mouth. He said something about finding a new gem. Then I blacked out." I said quickly, trying to forget the memories of the horrid expression on my daughter's face that clearly wasn't her own.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Cyborg suddenly grumbled, slamming his fist on the coffee table in front of us.

"Please friends... Does this mean.. The Trigon is back?" Starfire asked, already knowing the answer. I could tell by the fear in her voice. There was a long pause before anyone said the answer we were all dreading.

"Yes, Star." Gar whispered, squeezing my trembling hand tight.

"What are we to do?" Star questioned. Instinctively, we all turned to Nightwing.

"I... I don't know." He admitted, dropping his head low

"I thought we defeated him! I thought we never had to deal with him again!" Cyborg complained, mostly to himself. He turned to me for an explanation, the frustration on his face was such an unnatural look on him. Of course I didn't have a solid way of explaining our situation, I thought we had defeated him as well.

"I... I guess that because he's my father, and because there will always be a small fraction of him in my mind, that when I had the kids a part of him got passed on to them..." I said slowly, realizing that what I was getting at made sense. Of course I wouldn't worry much about the demon side of my children, they aren't even half demon like I am. We defeated my father years ago, why would we ever even consider the fact that he could return?

"That makes sense." Gar said quietly, while nodding his head. A chorus of "yeahs" were heard as the rest of my old team nodded. A second of silence passed.

"Wait, why haven't Asher and Esmerelda been affected?" Nightwing asked suddenly as he stood up from his position beside Starfire, now pacing in front of us.

"I'm not sure. Azura is the oldest. Most sensitive. Most unsure of herself. She's the most similar to me when I was her age. Probably an easy target for my father." It was true, even though Azura was a loner and yearned for her independence, she was never quite content with who she was. I always got a feeling of embarrassment from my daughter. It wasn't huge, but it was always there and I never understood why. Meanwhile Asher and Esmerelda are especially hardheaded. It'd be pretty hard to convince those two into anything. Another ripple of nods came after my words.

"I need to meditate." I decided as I stood up. Maybe if I get in touch with my emotions, Rage in particular, I can shed some light on the subject.

"Alright, we'll try to find her again. If we get to her, maybe we can try to explain to her what's going on." Nightwing sighed, already moving towards the large computer screens on the other side of the room. Cyborg and Starfire followed.

Just as I began to walk towards the door Gar tugged on the bottom of my sweater.

"You'll be okay?" He asked while looking up at me. I was so sick of seeing his face to distressed. I missed his smile, his loud laugh, and his carefree way of life.

"I'm okay." I nodded and sent him a small smile, trying to convince him to relax, even if it was just a little. Of course he could see through my mask.

"I'll come with you." He stated as he took my hand and stood up.

"Alright." I agreed, not really caring if he came or not. He claimed early in our marriage that he enjoyed watching me meditate, he said that he liked how peaceful I looked. Yet today I could tell his protective animal instincts were coming out. He was starting to guard me. Whenever he got like this in the past I just let him, knowing that there was no way to stop it. He was going to protect what was his.

We walked up to the roof, Gar right on my heals. I stopped in the middle of the stairway, causing my husband to bump into my back. I turned to look at his face. His eyes were dark and sunken. They didn't sparkle like they used to. His hair was long and unkept, it was starting to curl at the ends like it usually did when it got past its normal length. I noticed that he hadn't shaved lately as well. He just looked so out of it.

"Hey," I whispered. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm alright Rae, don't worry about me. We have bigger things to deal with." His head was tilted downwards, looking me in the eye. I cupped his face in my hands.

"We'll find her." I said simply before I kissed him quickly. It was a small kiss, fast and sweet. He smiled as he ran a hand through my hair.

"I love you. I'm sorry I let this happen."

"This isn't your fault, Gar. You know that." I sighed. He was not allowed to feel guilty. The whole situation was out of his control.

"You're my family. You and the kids. I'm supposed to protect you." His eyes seemed to get darker as they found the floor.

"Garfield Mark Logan. This is not your fault. He's been in her head since she was born. He was planning this, just like he planned to end the world using me. But he failed then and he will fail again. We will find her." I promised as I stared into his eyes.

"You're right. We beat him once and we were only kids! How bad could it be if we go against him again?" He smiled as he began to lead me up the rest of the stairs. In that moment I saw a shimmer of the real Gar. The Gar before everything went to Hell.

"Hey," I said as we finally got up to the roof. "I love you too."

If you think this story is worth reviving, let me know. Thanks again!

-Bri