AKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Well, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry that I've been so long between updates... let's just say that I've had a large dose of real life in the last few months, and it did interfere in my writing. I'll not bore you with the details. But hopefully that unpleasantness is over now.

As always a great debt is owed to my muses: CalliopeMused, Kayasuri-n, Lambbaby, Orange, and Hermitchild. These wonderful ladies have kept me going with their steadfast friendship, support, and threats of maiming. Thank you all very much.

CHAPTER 2: BLOOD OF THE DEMON

Upon receiving the frantic message over their communicators, Robin and Starfire had dashed back to the Tower, arriving almost simultaneously with Cyborg's own return. As Robin dismounted from the R-Cycle, Cyborg brought the T-car to a tire-screeching halt in the garage area.

"I take it you got the call too?" Cyborg asked upon exiting his vehicle.

"Yeah," Robin replied, "Not that Beast Boy gave me too many details. How about you?"

"Not much. Just something about Raven being in some sort trouble. Can't expect that he'd be too coherent if that is the case."

Robin nodded his agreement as Starfire landed next to him. He led them to the elevator that would take them to the Tower proper. "I get the feeling it must be serious, just from the tone of his voice. Lets go."

Upon exiting in the Common Room, the trio found their two comrades seated next to each other upon the couch located in the central area of the room. Robin immediately observed that Raven was garbed in the blue cloak that had been her typical attire for so long, rather than the white she had adopted in recent months. Her face was entirely hidden in the depths of her hood. Beast Boy was seated next to the hooded girl talking to her in soft tones while holding her hand in both of his. Upon their arrival, he looked up at them with a grateful yet tense expression.

"Thanks for coming so quick, guys. Sorry to pull you away from your evenings, but something pretty heavy's going down." Beast Boy remained at her side.

"What has occurred, Beast Boy?" Starfire asked with worry as they gathered around the couple. "Is friend Raven injured? Your summons was most vague."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but, there was no way I could just tell you about it. You kind of have to see this."

"See what?" Cyborg asked, clearly confused.

Beast Boy turned back to the still-hooded Raven. "You think you'll be alright with this, Rae?"

The half-demon girl nodded ever-so-slightly. "Yes. They need to see this." Taking her hand from her companion's grasp, she lowered her hood, exposing her face. In the center of her brow, in the same spot that the red gem on her Ajna chakra was located, the mark of Scath glowed with dim crimson light.

Everyone was silent for a moment, save for Starfire's shocked gasp. Finally, Robin broke the silence. "Alright, start at the beginning. How did this happen?"

Raven took a deep breath, and began speaking in a quiet, measured voice. "Earlier this evening, I was preparing to meet Beast Boy, and I started to feel... strange. I caught a look at myself in a mirror, and the marks..." her voice broke. After a momentary effort, she gathered herself. "... the marks were there. They've gotten dimmer in the last few minutes."

Starfire immediately sat next to her obviously upset comrade. "Friend Raven, I do not understand. Does this mean that your father is returning? I thought that was impossible."

Raven nodded. "It should be totally impossible. I've read every known scrap of prophesy concerning Trigon forwards, backwards, and sideways. I was his key once. That door should now be closed forever, according to all sources."

Cyborg was looking at Raven intently. "You said that in the past, the runes were some sort of warning, correct? What exactly did it say?"

"That's something I can't tell you, I'm afraid. I never learned to read that particular writing. I learned what I know about them on Azarath, when I was growing up. And the language they're written in is a forbidden tongue. No one outside of Azar herself and her immediate circle of acolytes was ever taught it. From what I understand, they were the result of some sort of attempt the Monks of Azar made to magically contain my father's legacy, the demonic part of my nature. It was doomed to fail, I suppose. prophesy can't be stopped," she finished sadly.

Beast Boy reclaimed his girlfriend's hand. "Yes, but the prophesy didn't say everything, did it? Yeah, Trigon returned, but you whipped his tail! If that is the case this time, you can do it again, I'm sure!" Raven smiled wanly at his encouragement.

Cyborg was still scrutinizing Raven. "Let me see your arms and legs, please."

With obvious reluctance, the telepathic girl shifted her blue cloak aside, revealing the rest of the glowing red markings covering her body.

Cyborg nodded. "Thought so. The marks are different."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"It subtle, but the markings are not the same as last time. This script appears to be very complex, but I have the advantage of having an electronic memory. I know exactly what the marks looked like, last time. And these aren't the same."

Robin was thinking hard. "A spell?"

"Seems likely."

"Then we need to know exactly what these marks mean, this time. That might give us some clue as to what's happening." He turned back to the half-demon girl. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Still a little weak," Raven admitted. "Of course, that could be because I kinda lost control of myself, a bit earlier, and trashed my room." She flushed slightly. "Sorry."

"It's alright, Raven," Robin said gently, "You've got nothing to apologize for. The person who did this, though... that's another matter." He bowed his head in thought a moment. "Well, we certainly have plenty of enemies, and plenty that have some skill with magic. Any in particular strike you as likely, Raven?"

She shook her head. "None in particular. And this sort of thing is pretty advanced. I can't think of anyone with this sort of skill, right off the top of my head."

Robin continued to think. "And you say that you're just feeling weak? I only ask because I'm trying to figure out what possible motive the caster has."

"Just a little weak, and shaken. I don't feel ill or anything. And I have no way to tell what the intent of this spell is."

"And none of us can read the marks," the Boy Wonder said, "So we'll have to turn to someone who does."

Starfire looked hopeful. "You know of such a person?"

"Maybe," he replied. "I have a few resources to check with." He turned and started to walk towards the door to the elevator. "I'm probably going to be working the rest of the night," he said as he left. "The rest of you should get some rest." He paused before entering the elevator. "Don't worry Raven, we'll get to the bottom of this, I swear."

"Thank you," she replied.

The doors slid shut with a hiss, and Robin bowed his head, turning the idea over in his mind. The person he was hoping to go to for aid, he was most... eccentric, to put it mildly. Not to mention the fact that Robin didn't even know how to contact him. Much as it annoyed him, he knew he'd have to contact a certain person that he was not anxious to talk to, in order to find out how to reach him.

Robin clenched his jaw. This was going to be a very long night.

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The four remaining Titans lingered in the common room following their leader's departure. Beast Boy could tell that Cyborg and Starfire could plainly see Raven's distress, despite her best efforts at remaining her usual calm self. Everyone wanted to be able to say something, anything, to make her feel better. It just seemed like everyone was too shaken to come up with much in the way of soothing words; the memory of Raven summoning her father with the crimson glyphs ablaze on her body still haunted Beast Boy, and he was sure it was no different for his friends. Soothing words seemed to be eluding them all.

Feeling the awkwardness, Beast Boy decided to take steps. "All right, guys, Raven's had a long day, and I think it's time we let her rest. We'll all talk more about this in the morning, Staying up all night and angsting isn't going to help."

Cyborg nodded. "That reminds me... you'd better check on Rob in a bit, Star. You know how he gets, sometimes."

"I shall do so," the alien girl replied. "He does tend to take things too far, sometimes. I will make sure he gets some sleep tonight." She drifted over to where Raven still sat on the couch and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Do not fear, friend Raven, we shall find the cause of your troubles, and defeat it together!" Starfire's voice rang with her trademark optimism.

"Thank you, Starfire. I'm sure we will," Raven said in a quiet voice.

Starfire turned and floated off to the elevator. Cyborg gave them all a broad smile, before he too turned and left.

Beast Boy turned to his girlfriend, and offered a gentle smile. "So, walk you to your room?"

Raven chewed her lip, her expression showing discomfort. "I'm not sure I really want to sleep there tonight. My powers went crazy, and trashed my room. And I don't really feel up to cleaning it right now. I might just sleep on the couch tonight."

Beast Boy took her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I gotcha. We have some blankets in the closet, hang on..." After dashing off to the closet on the other end of room, he returned with a blanket and pillows. "Here ya go. If you want, I can get you some pajamas from your room, or something."

"No, I'll be fine in my normal clothes." Raven removed her cloak and boots, and settled the blanket and pillows at one end of the curved couch.

Beast Boy helped her get comfortable as best he could. "Hey, I can't see the marks anymore... that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"I honestly don't know, Garfield," Raven's face was a mask of studied expressionlessness. "I've gotten myself a bit more under control now, that might be why they've faded. I was worked up earlier. But this whole situation... I don't know anything about what's going to happen. That's what worries me, not knowing."

Beast Boy laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to worry. We've faced so much already, and came out on top, we'll get through this just fine. Promise." He rose to his feet. "If you need anything, just call me. I'll be here in a flash." He turned to leave the room.

"Garfield?"

The young Titan stopped and turned back to her at her call. "What's up, Rae?"

Raven could feel herself trembling just a bit. She took a deep breath to calm herself; It wouldn't do to have her powers blow any nearby furniture to dust. "Would you..." She stalled, her throat feeling dry, her quavering voice betraying her. "I'd like for you to stay with me, if you could. I... just don't want to be alone, right now."

The green boy looked at her for a long moment, his eyes soft. "If it's going to make you feel better, I'll be happy to stay."

She shifted a bit on the couch, to make room for him. She felt him lay down behind her, and after dimming the lights with the remote control, she felt his arms gently slip around her, and hold her close. She closed her eyes, feeling secure for the first time in hours.

"Thank you, Garfield."

He said nothing, simply holding her until sleep claimed them both.

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Bright shafts of light streaming through the window coaxed Beast Boy out of a deep sleep the next morning. Slowly, he raised a hand to his face to rub the sleep from his eyes, and looked down at Raven, still nestled against his chest with her head peeking out from the covers.

He found his eyes lingering on her face. Raven, by necessity, kept herself under rigid emotional controls. It was the way she had been raised, after all; discipline had been the central fact of her life since childhood. But, while immersed in slumber, it seemed that the armor she encased herself in was softened, and one could see the person underneath.

Beast Boy couldn't keep the smile off his face. Indeed they had come a long way, in the few months since the early, awkward days of their relationship. It was a delicate ongoing process for them to get to know one another better, as they both had more that their fair share of issues to get past, but it was all worth it, when it lead to moments like this.

Being so wrapped up in adoring the beautiful girl sleeping in his arms, Beast Boy almost didn't hear the door open and someone enter the room. He raised his head in time to see Robin standing in front of them, a look of slack-jawed bewilderment on his face.

Beast Boy, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed, could only return the look for a moment. "Ummm...yeah, hi," he finally managed to squeak out.

Robin still looked thoroughly bewildered. "Beast Boy, you... Raven... cuddling?"

"Uh, I guess..."

"Wh-how?"

"She just didn't want to be alone, that's all. She has been through an awful lot. Now we should just let her rest, Rob." Carefully he disentangled himself from the slumbering girl, and pulled on his boots before making his way to the kitchen area, Robin following him and taking a seat at the table.

The masked Titan smirked. "Didn't mean to surprise you like that, I just didn't think you and Raven were quite so... affectionate yet."

"Well, this was a special case," Beast Boy replied as he put a kettle of water on the stove and turned on the heat. The green boy suddenly gave Robin a knowing look. " And you're one to talk... "

"What do you mean?" Robin ask, puzzled.

"I mean you and Starfire, man," Beast Boy said smugly. He sniffed the air theatrically. "My nose don't lie. I detect the cinnamon-y sweet aroma of a certain red-haired alien princess wafting off of you. So, you were in close quarters with her recently," he said with a grin. "Or you've been sampling her perfumes and soaps, which is a bit weird, dude, but hey, I'm not one to judge."

Robin's blush betrayed his embarrassment. "Starfire checked in on me last night, as I was working on something to help Raven," he said. "I tried to tell her to go ahead and turn in for the night, but she was stubborn, and stayed up with me the whole night, until I fell asleep."

"Awww, that's so sweet!" Beast Boy said with mocking glee. "Did she tuck you in too?"

Robin's blush deepened, and he looked down at the table.

Beast Boy's eyebrows shot up. "She did?"

"I fell asleep!" he protested. "I just woke up in my bed. She must have put me in there when I passed out." He looked rather curiously at Beast Boy, who was still puttering around the stove. "And are you making tea?"

He nodded. "For Raven. She likes tea when she first wakes up. We usually have a cup in the morning, and talk a little." He made a wry face. "She says I'm slightly less annoying when I'm still half asleep. "

"Learning to like tea?"

"Well, it's talking to Raven that I like." The kettle began to whistle, and he turned the heat down, and fetched the teacups down from the cupboard. "Would you care for some?"

"No thanks," he replied politely, "I'm a coffee drinker, myself."

Raven drifted into the kitchen, fastening her blue cloak. With her hood down, the two boys could see no traces of the magical runes upon her ashen skin.

"Good morning!" Beast Boy smiled as he handed her a steaming mug of herbal tea. "How are you feeling?"

She nodded politely and took a seat next to him. "A little better."

Robin looked at her with sly smile. "Did you sleep well?" he asked with studied mildness.

"Well enough," she replied. Then she seemed to catch Robin's mirthful look, and noted Beast Boy's somewhat embarrassed expression. "Oh, I see," she said. "You boys were talking then. I'm sorry I interrupted. I can go talk to Starfire. We talk every day, you know." Beast Boy noted her deceptively offhand tone.

"You do?" Robin seemed somewhat surprised.

"Indeed. That Starfire does like to talk, quite a bit. Just girl stuff, really. Music, TV... boyfriends, that sort of thing. Yep, not many secrets between us girls." She gave the Titan's leader a very direct look.

Robin suddenly appeared somewhat uncomfortable. "Yeah... I have to go check on something... I'll catch up with you guys later." Robin rose and left the kitchen in somewhat of a hurry.

Beast Boy chuckled a bit. "Well, that's a first. I've never seen anyone manage to spook him like that."

Raven smirked. "I figured from his expression that he saw us on the couch."

"He did, he already cracked on me a little bit. Still, it's good to see him with a bit of sense of humor. Starfire's a good influence on him." Beastboy paused a moment. "So, do you two really talk about us?" he asked a bit tentatively.

"Do you really want to know?" she replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably not."

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That afternoon, Robin called the entire team into the common room. As they entered, the other Titans were surprised to see him joined by a visitor, a tall man seemingly in his early forties, his dark auburn hair with a prominent white streak, dressed casually in a tweed jacket and black shirt.

Robin addressed them as they took their seats. "Last night, after what Raven told us, I decided check into a few resources. From what Raven told us, it sounded like we needed someone with some expertise in demons." He nodded to their visitor. "This is Jason Blood, an expert on magic and the occult that I came to know when I was in Gotham City. I think he may be able to help Raven."

Their guest rose and nodded politely. "Thank you, Robin." His voice was deep, and had an accent that seemed to betray a British origin. "I will do what I can to help of course." He turned to to Raven. "I do have a great deal of personal experience with demons, if you will excuse that term, Raven. Actually, I do think that you are a rather unique individual. I've never encountered a hybrid such as yourself before."

Raven seemed a little nervous about all the attention. "I don't recall hearing about another like me. I had heard that Trigon had attempted to sire offspring before, but, I don't think any of the previous attempts were successful."

"Human and demon biology are inherently quite different." Blood observed as he opened a leather satchel he carried with him. "Trying to meld the two would not be an exact science, to say the least. Trigon's followers went to a great deal of trouble to bring his gem into the world."

Beast Boy, seated next to her on the couch, put a protective arm around her shoulders. "These marks don't mean he's coming back, do they?" he asked.

Blood considered it a moment. "I think you can let your mind be at ease in that regard. If a being like that were trying to enter this world, I'd have felt it. Powerful creatures like Trigon make sizable waves, to say the least. And it requires a lot of power to open a portal for something like that."

Cyborg frowned. "If that's the case, where were you last time? We sure could've used your help, to say the least!"

"That situation was a mystical powder keg; if people such as myself or Dr. Fate or Zatanna had intervened, the potential for disaster would have been even greater. Also the prophesy involved made clear that our efforts would have been futile, anyway. So long as his gem was involved, Trigon could not be stopped by any of us. She was the only one who could end it. Her defiance of her father saved us all." From his satchel, Blood withdrew a large, irregularly-shape crystal. "I guess the first thing to investigate would be these marks Robin spoke of. They faded away quickly after they appeared?" he asked Raven.

"It took a few hours. They seemed to dim as I calmed down. That leads me to believe that my powers somehow made them visible. I haven't tried doing anything with them since, I was worried it might not be safe."

The mystic nodded. "Very prudent. But, I think we can make them visible without any sort of risk. This crystal can make most form of arcane glyphs appear to the naked eye, without making their effects active, by changing the nature of the light in the area. It's used for detecting wards. Shall I proceed?"

At Raven's nod, Blood raised the crystal, holding out towards where she was seated. "Elaiphthios!" he said in a tone of command.

The crystal glowed a pale cerulean and the lights in the room seemed to dim. As they watched, the runes re-appeared on Raven's skin, this time glowing the same hue as the crystal in Blood's hand, rather than their usual angry scarlet. Blood carefully inspected the markings, saying nothing as they all waited.

Starfire finally broke the tense silence. "Can you tell us what the strange markings mean?"

Blood was silent a moment. "No. I can't read them."

Beast Boy sighed. "That's it then?"

Jason Blood stiffened as if visibly steeling himself for something unpleasant. "The language is difficult one, generally not seen except amongst those most closely associated with demons. I do know someone who can read them, but... he's not someone I'm anxious to call upon for aid."

Robin's face was grim "You mean Etrigan."

Blood nodded. "Yes. I have no doubts he can read the marks."

Cyborg was puzzled. "Etrigan? Who's that?"

"A demon," Blood replied. "Long ago, he was mystically linked to me, and I can summon him when there is need."

"We'll have to deal with that," Cyborg said.

Robin looked at his teammates. "Etrigan can be unpleasant. Once Blood summons him, try to stay calm. He likes getting under your skin. Don't let him." He nodded to Blood. "Whenever you're ready."

Blood took a deep breath. "This is likely to be... ostentatious. Don't be alarmed." He then spoke in resounding tones.

"Gone, gone, the form of man,

Rise the demon, Etrigan!"

As they watched, Blood's body was suffused in flames, the intense light blinding their eyes. After several seconds, the flames died, and a hideous form stood before them in Blood's place.

The creature was stocky, with a massively muscled frame, dressed in a red tunic and short cape. It's skin was yellow and appeared to be scaly. Small, burning red eyes peered at them malevolently from a toad-like face, fanged and horned.

Robin stepped forward. "Etrigan... we need your assistance."

Etrigan growled.

"Insolent mortal, state your reason,

to summon Etrigan, Prince of Demons."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "This clown rhymes? You gotta be joking..."

Robin pointed to Raven. "We need you to tell us what those glyphs mean."

Etrigan shot the gray girl a disdainful look.

"I have no reason to lend my aid,

to a pathetic half-blood maid."

Robin was clearly losing his patience. "Etrigan, Jason Blood swore to aid us. You are bound to him, therefore, you are bound to his promise."

Etrigan glared back at him.

Robin met his glare with one of his own. "I know your weaknesses, Etrigan. I'm sure I can have Cyborg find something made of iron in the Tower..."

The mention of iron seemed to mollify the demon some. He gave the marks on Raven a brief glance.

"Marks to bind demon's might,

fell dweomer to contain the shadow light."

Robin considered the hideous creature's words. "Raven, using as little power as you can, try to pick up that lamp," he said, gesturing to a nearby table lamp.

"I'll try," she said. She stared at the lamp, concentrating, A black glow surrounded it, but it only wobbled slightly from side to side, and failed to float into the air.

After several more seconds of apparent effort, Raven sighed. "He's right. I can draw on the magic, but it's slips away from me. It's like trying to hold water in the palm of your hand. Someone's trying to de-power me," she said grimly.

"Who would do that?" Beast Boy asked. "Well, we have plenty of enemies, but not many magical ones. And which ones would want to go after Raven herself?"

"We can find out, perhaps" Raven said. "No two magic users do things quite alike, and all spells have a signature to them." She turned to Etrigan. "A demon of your station should be sensitive to such things. Can you tell who did this?"

Etrigan grimaced, as if offended that she addressed him directly, but he examined the marks still glowing upon her once again.

"Demon's sight can see the one who's rendered your powers frozen,

Brother Sebastian, lord of the Eighth Devil's Chosen."

Etrigan turned back to Robin.

"This working is beyond my power to undo.

I've told you all I can, my task here is through."

"Very well," Robin replied. "Leave, Etrigan."

Etrigan growled at his curt dismissal.

"Gone, gone, O Etrigan,

Rise once more the form of man!"

A pillar of flames surrounded the demon. When they died away, Jason Blood stood before them again.

Beast Boy, again with his arm around Raven, shook his head. "That's a guy who's got to be no fun at parties."

Cy stood and began to walk towards the computer on the wall. "Now we just need to find out who this 'Brother Sebastian of the Eighth Devil' person is."

Raven spoke in a small voice. "I can already shed some light on that. The Eighth Devil is one of Trigon's titles. His chosen are his followers. They were the ones that helped Trigon...sire me." The look on her face made it clear that this was an uncomfortable topic, and Beast Boy pulled her even closer to him.

"That may be able to get us started. We just need to find these creeps now," Cyborg said, clearly trying to cheer the empathic girl up.

Jason Blood was rubbing his temple, clearly still affected by the effort of summoning Etrigan. "Actually, I can help with that. The Chosen were driven from Gotham City a little over a year ago, shortly after you defeated Trigon. They seem to have gone into hiding. Their ranks were weakened by infighting amongst their leadership some years ago, and they were a shadow of their former self. That's why they were not able to do much damage when their master manifested himself in our world."

Raven looked puzzled. "Infighting? From what I've been able to find out, there wasn't much room for dissent within the Chosen."

"True, but one of their leaders abandoned their old ways, and for some reason became infatuated with science and technology as a path to power. He was a strange fellow. Actually, I'd heard you may have already met him, and defeated him."

Robin looked confused. "We have?"

"Yes, he was the former H.I.V.E. Headmaster. Called himself Brother Blood."

Robin shook his head. "You have to be kidding," he said in a crestfallen voice.

"Whats wrong?" Raven asked.

Starfire sighed. "Brother Blood is dead. He was killed in prison. Robin and I found out yesterday from the police. I fear we will get no information from him now."

A dead silence fell over the room.

"There goes our lead," Robin groused.

"Wait a sec," Cyborg said. "I have an idea..."

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes

Alright, first off, let me apologise for Etrigan's dialog. A poet, I most certainly am not.

I'm continuing to try to reconcile bits of the comic-verse with the show, which is difficult, because the show totally botched Brother Blood, IMHO. But, this is the best I can do...

Anyway, the next updates should be quicker. I hope you enjoyed this and look forward to hearing out of you in the coming chapters!

Regards,

The Doctor

10 September 2006