A/N: This is it. Felt pretty weird clicking the button to mark this story as "Complete". Let's start with the usual housekeeping items. First, a soundtrack song.

Another Raven/Brand song: "Angel" - Theory of a Deadman

Now the review responses...

Guest 1: I never said you were too invested in the relationship (haha). But I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much. Hope you like this one, too.

Guest 2: As they say, all good things must come to an end. But more about that at the end of the chapter.

Guest 3: I don't necessarily disagree with you. My concern was that the ending was a little too "shonen", a little too Kingdom Hearts. Maybe I could've/should've found a way to keep the tension for a bit longer, but I decided that the focus was more on why Brand wouldn't go through with it than the possibility that he might.

Stick Figure man: Thank you very much for your review. "Revelation" and "Weapon of Choice" really are the culmination of every previous chapters, the point where it all pays off, and I'm glad that I was able to pull it all together in a satisfactory way.

As always, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I got way more views after posting the last chapter than I usually do, including several people who appear to have read through the whole thing in a day or two. Very flattering. On with the show...

Robin raised one arm in a block, diminishing the power of his opponent's punch, though it still made him wince in pain. Without thinking, he back-flipped away from the follow-up kick, a lifetime of acrobatics making the triple flip look easy. Even as he landed, however, the other fighter was already there, as fast as ever. The boy wonder weaved away from another kick, then aimed his own punch at his opponent's face.

His fist landed solidly in Brand's palm, and the Weapon's hand closed tightly around the fist, locking it down. The white-haired teen drew back his other hand for a haymaker blow and…

Didn't deliver it.

"You've gotten better," Robin said, his breathing deep but steady, feeling sweat trickle down his brow. This latest sparring match had been quite a workout. His arms and legs stung from the strikes he had blocked.

Brand's breath was like a metronome, but the boy wonder was pleased to see the other teen sweating as well. They had both been fighting hard. "Have I?" the Weapon asked, releasing Robin's hand and staring at him with earnest seriousness. "Did I actually improve, or is it…?"

A sigh escaped from the masked Titan's lips. "Probably both," he admitted. "The way you fight is… closer to what I remember from battling Slade, but it might just be you. You've been here for a while, learning from all of us, sharpening your skills." He shook his head. "I can't tell for sure if the chip is affecting your fighting."

"Yeah," Brand grunted. "That's how it is for me, too. I can't tell if he's still there or if I'm imagining things." He looked away. "Sometimes I don't know which would be worse."

Robin hesitated only a moment before putting a friendly hand on the Weapon's shoulder. It had taken several days a lot of explanation – mostly from Raven – but the lead Titan was as sure as he could be that Brand had not betrayed them after all. At least not willingly. "I'm sorry we couldn't take the chip out of your head," he said. "Maybe STAR Labs might be able to -"

"Doubtful," Brand interrupted. "Slade told me it wouldn't be possible to remove without killing me."

"You could still try," Robin insisted, removing his hand.

A nod. "Maybe I will." A few seconds passed. "Thanks again for… everything."

"Don't mention it."

Brand flashed a brief smirk - one that said "I won't" - before turning to the door of the gym. After a few steps, he stopped and spun back to face him. "Tell me something," he said slowly. "When did you know?"

"Know what?" the boy wonder asked.

"About my connection to Slade. And I'm not talking about the neural copy."

Robin kept his face and voice carefully neutral. "What makes you think I knew?" Brand just stared, putting his hands on his hips. "I didn't know," the masked Titan said at last. "I guessed. I broke Slade's mask once. I saw his face, and when I saw you and the other Weapons, I saw the resemblance between him and you." A tight smile crossed the dark-haired teens face. "Besides, you've always fought like he did."

"Then why did you let me stay?" Brand asked, not challenging, but curious.

"For the same reason I told the others when we voted," Robin explained with a shrug. "If you were up to something, I'd rather have you where I could see you then behind my back. But, for what it's worth, I never thought you were irredeemable. I figured we could turn you around, get you on our side. And you passed the test."

The Weapon smiled sardonically. "Well you were right." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his black-and-yellow communicator. "What about this?" he asked. "Was this part of the test?"

"No," Robin said soberly. "You earned that. And you're keeping it."

"Well then," Brand said with a chuckle. "If there's trouble, you know who to call." With a lazy wave of one hand, he turned and walked away.

Cyborg was deep under the T-car, adjusting its suspension, when he heard footsteps approaching, echoing across the floor of the tower's garage. "Hey, just in time!" he exclaimed. "Can you hand me the torque wrench?" Several seconds passed, and the bionic Titan could hear someone rooting around in the pile of tools before the long arm of the wrench appeared under the edge of his car. "Thanks."

It was another minute before he finished the step he was on, taking his time to get it right, knowing that if it was an emergency, his visitor would have said something by now. Finally, he slid out from under the T-car to see who it was. To his mild surprise, he found Brand standing a few feet away, staring at the vehicle with an expression of almost longing.

"Sorry, man," Cyborg said with a grin that suggested he was anything but. "Only I can drive her."

Brand smiled back faintly. "Yeah, that's what Raven told me back… when we first met." He shook his head. "She is a beauty, though."

The big Titan's grin broadened, and he couldn't help but wonder if the Weapon was talking about the car or the sorceress. As much as he enjoyed razzing the other teen, he let the comment pass this time. "What brings you down here?"

"Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Brand said, looking uncomfortable.

Cyborg raised his metal hands, shaking his head. "Oh, hey, I'm flattered and all, but I only think of you as a friend." Brand glared at him and Cyborg relented, lowering his arms.

"I'm serious," the Weapon said. "It's about… what I am." The bionic Titan pursed his lips and nodded. They had all finally heard the story about Janus and how they had created Brand, Saber, and Lance as imperfect clones of Slade. "I always knew that Weapon had done something to me," the white-haired teen continued, gazing up at the ceiling. "I knew I wasn't… normal, but it wasn't until I found out I was a clone that it really affected me."

"It still messes me up sometimes," Brand admitted. "When I let myself think about it too much, but there's something that always managed to help me." He glanced at Cyborg with a pair of keen blue eyes. "Whenever I felt like I was less than human, I remembered that I had an example of someone who must live with that feeling every day. Someone who manages to be the most human person I've ever met."

The big Titan's jaw dropped at the unusual show of sentimentality. "Ah, well..." he said, rubbing at the back of his neck with one titanium hand.

Brand smirked. "You've given me a hard time since the moment I came back to Jump City," he said. "But you always kept me on my toes."

"Hey, now, where's all this coming from?" Cyborg asked. The Weapon shrugged.

"Everything that's been going on," he said vaguely, backing towards the elevator. "It's just given me a lot to think about."

Cyborg stared at the other teen as he stepped back into the elevator. "Keep this up, and I might give you one of the good rooms after all," he called out as the doors closed on Brand's laugh.

He knew he had the TV up too loud, the looping music and digital combat sounds noisy through the big speakers on either side of the screen. He also knew he was sitting too close, his eyes darting back and forth to keep up with all the action on the display. Raven would have scolded him. Robin, too, come to think of it, but Beast Boy didn't care. He needed to lose himself in the comfortable familiarity of his video games.

The changeling's gloved hands manipulated the controller with unconscious ease, even though he was barely thinking about the fighting game he was playing. He was trying not to think of anything. It wasn't until he got kicked back to the character select screen and saw that the "Player 2" icon was lit that he realized he wasn't alone.

A quick glance back revealed Brand sitting on the sofa, examining the controller he had picked up as if he could figure out the controls so simply. After a moment, he managed to choose a character. A sword-user, of course. Beast Boy felt a grin cross his face. "Seriously?" he asked. "Have you even played before?"

The Weapon raised an eyebrow. "Faster reflexes, remember?"

Beast Boy vaulted himself backwards from the floor over the coffee table and back onto the U-shaped couch. "Your funeral," he cackled. The first round was short, and the changeling won without taking a hit. The second was almost identical, but Brand managed to land a single punch.

A deep frown split Brand's face when the younger teen looked at him again. "Rematch," Brand said.

Four more fights went by without much change. By the fifth, however, the Weapon was beginning to figure out how to play, and Beast Boy's smile shrunk as his rhythm was broken and Brand began to hit with more and more of his attacks. On the tenth round, Brand won, leaving the score for the current bout at one and one. The eleventh fight, the tiebreaker, was a vicious, brutal match that had both players fighting at the limits of their skills.

Beast Boy barely won.

"Got you!" the changeling crowed, lifting the controller above his head like a trophy. "You're not bad for someone who never played before today."

Brand grunted a response, still a bit miffed at losing. Beast Boy shrugged and used the center button of the controller to shut off the gaming console, leaning back against the couch. They sat there in silence for a moment before the Weapon spoke. "Any luck finding her?"

The green-skinned Titan shook his head, staring out beyond the TV, beyond the windows and out over the city. "No," he said quietly. "She didn't even stop at her foster parents' house. Terra could be anywhere by now."

"I feel… responsible," Brand admitted. "I let her out."

"Yeah, but that was Slade controlling you," Beast Boy argued. "Besides… you opened the door, I'm the one that chased her away." He looked down at his shoes. "I shouldn't have said anything to her. Or I should have played along like everything was normal. Anything but say what I did. The last thing Terra wanted was to be closed away, poked and examined by doctors. Of course she'd run away if she thought that was what was going to happen to her." His hands curled into fists.

It was another several seconds before Brand spoke. "I don't know if this helps, but… I don't think she was completely crazy. I think that whatever Slade did to me, he tried to do to her. So when she talked about hearing him speaking to her, she was telling the truth." The Weapon took a deep breath. "It's possible he even influenced her to block off the cave when I fought Slade and to run away when I opened her cell."

Another brief silence. "I don't know if it helps either," Beast Boy said at last, glancing over at the older teen. "But it's something." Brand gave him a half-smile and stood, stretching. "Hey," the changeling said. "Maybe we can play again sometime."

Brand hesitated, then nodded. "Sure."

It was cold outside, a bracing December day, but it was bright, clear, cloudless, and the low temperature had no effect on Starfire. She had not even bothered to wear anything over her usual brief attire. Even the coldest winter seemed warm compared to the depths of space where Tamaraneans could travel unaided. So the red-haired alien enjoyed the sunny day as she would any other, soaring through the blue skies, letting the joy of flight thrum through her body.

She dropped down to the surface of the bay, tilting to one side and letting a hand trail in the freezing water, giggling at the momentary, fragmented rainbows her passage caused. Truly, Earth is a beautiful place, she marveled. The Tamaranean corkscrewed around Titans' Tower until she reached the roof. A smile as radiant as the sun lit her face as she recognized the figure standing atop the building; one of her compatriots.

"Friend Brand!" she exclaimed happily, floating over to where he stood and allowing her booted feet to touch the surface. "Did you also come outside to enjoy the weather?"

The Weapon half-smiled, huddled in his dark jacket, which he held tight around himself, his head burrowed down to get the most of his body heat. "Not so much," he said. His chin lifted in a nod to indicate the open sky. "You looked like you were having fun, though."

"Indeed," Starfire said. "It is most enjoyable to fly on such a day. The wind, the water, the view, the freedom… Glorious!"

"It sounds nice," Brand admitted. He wasn't looking at her, however, but out into the distance, over the streets and buildings of Jump City.

The Tamaranean tilted her head at him curiously. "Would you like me to take you up?" she asked. "I assure you, carrying you would not present a difficulty."

Brand's hands came out of his pockets, lifting palms-out as if to ward her off. "No thanks," he said quickly. "I, uh… haven't quite earned my wings yet."

"'Earned your wings'?" the red-headed alien mused. "Do humans also go through the Transformation? Will you obtain your wings at some future time?" Laughter was the other teen's response. Starfire could only stare at his fit of mirth until it subsided. "Did I say something amusing?"

"Always," the Weapon responded with a grin. He looked away again. "You've been friendly to me from the very start," he said. "Way before I deserved it. And… because you were so kind, I never wanted to hurt your feelings or be harsh with you." He paused. "You made me be a better person."

Starfire was still confused about many Earthling customs, terminology, and behaviors, but she was no fool. "You are saying farewell." It was not a question.

The other teen shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"I see," she murmured. "You, too, seek the freedom of flight."

He made a face, but still couldn't look at her. "You make it sound like I'm running away."

"Those were not the words I used," Starfire corrected him. "But tell me, have you spoken to Raven?"

"I was… going to leave a note." Brand winced even as the words left his mouth. "It isn't easy, you know?" he added lamely.

The Tamaranean marched across the roof, closing the several feet between them. She put her hands on Brand's shoulders and forced him to look at her. "I never truly believed you would hurt any of the Titans," she said. "If you had, you would not have found me so kind. That has not changed. If you hurt any of the others… if you hurt Raven, our own friendship will end." The Weapon could only stare at her. "Please," Starfire continued. "If you must go, talk to her first." She released him and stepped back, regarding him with her green-on-green eyes.

Brand took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right," he said.

The halls of the tower seemed somehow longer and quieter than usual, almost unfamiliar to Raven, though she had been living there for almost two years now. Then again, everything seemed slightly different since she and Brand had escaped Nevermore. Since she had stopped compartmentalizing her emotions and pushing them away. Although the sorceress looked the same as she ever did, dressed again in her black leotard and dark blue cloak, she was – in subtle ways – changed.

She remembered several weeks ago when she and Brand had said goodbye to Seer, after Raven had sealed away the young girl's visions. "It'll be hard," she had said. "You have to live like the rest of us now."

That was how she felt. More human than she ever had before. It was frightening at times. A life of strict self-control could not be tossed aside so easily, but Raven had made her decision deep in the depths of her own mind when she had known that accepting her feelings was the only way to save Brand and herself. Her father had been defeated, her destiny unbound. It was time to stop being afraid of her emotions and start living.

Even if it hurt.

The Titan reached her destination and paused outside the thick metal door which marked Brand's room, hugging the item she had brought with her to her chest: a collection of Bram Stoker stories for him to add to his small stash of horror novels. Would he appreciate the gift? Would he even want anything from her? After what she had done to him? When they had defeated Slade together, she had felt as close to the Weapon as she had ever felt to anybody, but since then…

A sudden fit of nerves overtook her. She placed the book in front of rolling vault door and took a step back, preparing to retreat. He would talk to her when he was ready or not at all.

"Raven?" Brand's voice interrupted her musings. Not from in front of her, but to her right. With unconscious ease, the sorceress kept herself from jumping at the startling sound, instead turning her head with almost regal slowness to see the other teen standing there, his cheeks red from the cold and maybe something else. "What are you doing here?"

To her irritation, she found her throat was dry. "I came here to give you something," she said, keeping her violet gaze locked on his. "Before you left."

Brand's mouth dropped open, and the color in his cheeks deepened. "You knew?"

"You've been avoiding me," she answered, unable to quite keep the hurt out of her voice. "And I talked to Beast Boy and Cyborg… they told me how weird you've been acting." She felt her stare falter, slipping away from the Weapon's face. "I want you to know I don't hold it against you." The words were coming out faster now. "I understand if you can't forgive me for what I did, if you don't want to stay here because of me."

"No, no, wait a minute," Brand said, stepping closer, not quite within arms' reach. "You've got me all wrong, Raven." He sighed. "Well half wrong anyway. I am leaving, and maybe I have been avoiding you, but it's not for the reason you think." She lifted her eyes to his again, waiting for an explanation. "The thing is… I'm still worried. Worried about whether Slade is still in my head. Sometimes I think I can hear him, whispering to me, trying to get me to kill you. Whether it's real or I'm just being paranoid, I can't take that chance. I won't take that chance again."

He took another step closer and hesitantly reached out to take her hand. She let him, feeling her face warm. "So I need to get away from here for a while. Until I'm sure I have this under control. Until I know I won't do anything to hurt you."

Raven bit her lip, feeling a strange pressure in her chest. "You won't hurt me," she said, barely loud enough to hear.

"I almost did," he reminded her, pain coloring his words. "But there's something else, too. Something you told me when you were in my head." He squeezed her hand. "You said I was free. Since Janus activated me, I've been under someone else's programming or compulsion." A brief smile. "Some more pleasant than others. But it's time I do something with that freedom, figure out who I am, who I want to be. Make some choices."

Brand closed the remaining foot between them, leaning his head down until their foreheads touched, staring into her eyes. "You're the one who taught me that, Raven. I could never blame you for what you did. If you hadn't, I'd be dead or a tool in Janus's hands. You gave me a chance I never would've gotten another way."

"You surpassed my expectations," Raven said with a flicker of a smile, though she felt tears in her eyes. She paused. "I don't want you to leave," she admitted, unable to escape the irony of the words, the complete opposite of what she had said when the Titans had voted to give him sanctuary.

He smiled at her, and she had the feeling he was sharing the same memory. "I'll be back," he promised. He took her other hand. "And you know why?" he asked, his voice lowering. She shook her head against his. "Because my feelings for you are as real as they need to be." He leaned down further, and Raven felt herself straining up, but he pulled back right before they kissed, a smirk on his face.

"What are you…?"

"The last time we did this," he whispered teasingly, "you said we couldn't."

The girl felt her lips curl in a genuine smile. "I changed my mind," she said, rising up on her toes to brush her lips against his. This kiss wasn't quick or desperate or tentative, it was deep and long, filled with all the emotions and words that neither of them were quite willing to say yet. The Raven of a week ago would have been too wary of her own feelings to allow such a thing.

"It'll be hard," she heard herself in her memories, warning Seer. "You have to live like the rest of us now."

But now she remembered the girl's response. "I think it's exciting." Finally Raven understood what she had meant.

At last, they broke apart, both flushed and breathing hard, bodies pressed together. "I'm coming back," Brand said again, his voice rough.

Raven nodded. "I know."

Jump City was behind him now, receding into the distance as he drove along a lonely stretch of highway, the very same road he and Raven had taken so long ago when they had gone to rescue the Titans. Like then, Brand was astride a motorcycle, a parting gift from Robin, though the Weapon had never discovered just where the lead Titan got the money for such things. Probably has rich parents, he thought.

Either way, he was grateful. For the transportation and for the helmet and thick riding jacket which diminished the effect of the cold wind rushing past him. Maybe he'd go south first, stop by Bridgetown before continuing to warmer climes. And then…

Who knew?

When he had first left the Titans behind, Brand had wandered without a destination and without a purpose. He had nowhere to go and nothing to do except survive. On the surface, nothing had changed. The world was open and full of possibilities, but one important thing was different: He had a home to go back to now.

And someone waiting for him to return.

Under the dark visor of his helmet, Brand grinned. He felt... light.

~FIN~

A/N: Two more songs...

Final Scene: "Life in Technicolor" - Coldplay

End Credits: "How Did You Love?" - Shinedown

Phew... there we are. Thirty-one chapters. Over 150,000 words. It's a completed novel. Psychologically, although it is only fanfiction, actually finishing a novel-length project is pretty exciting. It's encouraging. It shows me that - with patience - it may be something I can do again in the future. Perhaps with something more lucrative.

Just as important, I'm glad I was able to finish the story for my readers. I always hated the idea of starting a long story like this and being unable to complete it. As a reader, I know how frustrating that can be. It wasn't easy, and there were a few times where I almost wasn't able to keep to my schedule, but I never actually missed a week. I hit my self-imposed deadlines.

(For anyone interested in the process side of my writing, one little tidbit that I've touched on previously is the points where there were long pauses in composition. The first was after Chapter 5... I got through the first scene of "sancTuary" and stopped for a long time. The next spurt of writing brought me to the beginning of Chapter 13, "Conflict". When I picked it up again, I was able to complete the Citadel arc and make it all halfway through Chapter 21. I started writing again, but only managed to finish Chapter 23, "Sacrifice". For a while, I thought that would be it, but I forced myself to finish up, taking me from Chapter 24, "Aftermath", all the way to 31, "An End and a Beginning".)

I'll quickly go over my thoughts for this last chapter, then I'll go to the big question. "An End and a Beginning" was mostly about creating a framework for the last two scenes, the scenes that I knew had to be there. Endgame is very Raven-and-Brand-centric, so I thought I would take some time in the last chapter to spend some time in everyone else's POV as well, hence the "goodbye" scenes. I liked these, and I hope you all did, too. The final two scenes, as mentioned, are the meat and potatoes of the chapter, especially the Raven POV. It's a little bittersweet, but the two of them do finally share their feelings and a proper kiss. Both of them have changed, but both are optimistic. For some reason, the image of Brand riding away on a motorcycle with the above-mentioned song was always the one I wanted to close out the story with, and I like the... circularity of it. He ends where he began, but better.

Now it's time to address the question or the implication that several people have made: Is there more?

Sorry to say, but there's a 90% chance I won't be adding any more to "The Edge Between...". At the same time, this was conceived as a four-part series - Love and Hate, Life and Death, Good and Evil, and Beginnings and Endings. A good portion of that is even outlined, and I certainly know the major plot points of each part. The reason I went ahead and wrote "Love and Hate" is because it's the only one of the four parts that works on its own, as a stand-alone story with a start and a finish. Now there are plot threads left hanging even so, such as Terra and Red X, but - for the most part - "Love and Hate" functions as a self-contained story.

Unfortunately, as fun as writing this story has been, it's just too much effort for something that I do for free. I don't regret writing it by any means... I really wanted to get Brand's story out there and stretch my writing muscles, but the idea of doing this three more times is just too overwhelming. Even worse would be starting the task and never finishing, which I don't think would be fair to you all either.

So most likely, this is it. Thank you all for reading, for reviewing, for sharing some of your time with me and my story. I really appreciate it.

I'd like to hear from my readers before we close the book for good, so tell me what you thought. Favorite chapters? Favorite moments? Questions? Comments? I may update this last chapter later on to include my responses in a supplementary Author's Note.

Thanks again.