Alrighty! I think this is the last chap, people, but I had fun while it lasted! :D I hope you guys enjoyed it too! Thank you so much to everyone who stuck by me in this story! I LOVE you guys!

Now onto the next and final chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own anybody but my own characters. Please do not steal them. :(

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Chapter 14- Finality

Raven almost jumped as thunder sounded and lighting clashed outside. There must be a storm coming, she thought, the sky had been cloudy earlier today. She sighed in annoyance, hoping the weather wouldn't be this bad on the wedding day. Raven peered out the window as lighting flashed by again. "Maybe Ryan should have stayed after all…" Raven murmured, worried.

Suddenly there was a huge boom as the windows all flashed with the bright lighting. The lights flickered off, leaving Raven in the dark. "Shoot," she hissed. "A blackout." Sighing again with annoyance, for there was nothing she could do but wait until the lights turned back on, Raven felt around the living room until she found the couch and sat down.

Raven stared down at her stomach and rubbed it, wondering when Ryan would return. "Raven," a scared voice whispered in her head. It was Fear. "Something's here…"

What? Raven thought, her head spinning around to search the place out of habit. She couldn't see anything.

"There's something out there!" Fear screeched in Raven's head. But Raven couldn't sense anything because her powers were very weak. She didn't have a lot of strength.

"Raven," a harsh and raspy voice whispered in her ear all of a sudden, sending chills down her spine. Raven couldn't move, something was pinning her down to the couch. Cold hands wrapped around her neck, and Raven's eyes widened with shock as a face appeared out of the shadows so that their noses were touching.

"Tray."

-X-x-X-

Hannah gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her eyes shifted from looking at the road to Ryan in the mirror frequently. She had no idea where she was going, she was just driving down a lonely road.

"What did you guys want to talk about?" Ryan asked, wondering what was going on with his friends. They were so quiet…something was suspicious.

"Hannah?" Riley ignored Ryan's question and instead worriedly looked in her direction. Hannah was trembling, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Never before since her accident had Hannah looked so weak.

"I can't!" Hannah cried out suddenly, the car jerking to a stop. She pressed her head to the steering wheel as tears spilled from her eyes, "I can't! I can't do it!"

"Can't do what? What's going on here?" Ryan asked, getting panicked and irritated. What were they hiding from him?

"W-w-when I saw Raven…the baby…I-…I-I just can't…" Hannah's body went into spasms as she cried harder.

"Can't what?!" Ryan said more angrily this time. "Hannah, what's going on?!"

Hannah lifted her head for a moment, and Ryan was shocked by the many emotions that filled Hannah's eyes, but the one that stuck out the most was guilt. "He's going to kill her," she whispered. "Tray is going to kill Raven."

That was all it took for Ryan to snap. He didn't even question how Hannah knew Tray and what he was going to do, he just got out of the car and opened the driver's door, roughly demanding, "Move Hannah. I'll drive." Hannah did as he said and moved to the back. Once Ryan was in the driver's seat, he didn't even bother to buckle up, he just did a quick U-turn and sped towards the house, praying to God that he wasn't too late.

While driving, Ryan took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number, growling, "Hurry up!" when the person on the other line didn't answer after the first ring.

"Hello?" Nightwing said on the other end.

"It's Ryan," was all he said for an introduction. "I need you to get whatever powerful weapons you guys might have and get over to the house, fast! Raven's in trouble!"

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Nightwing inquired.

"This isn't the time for questions!" Ryan hissed. "If you don't get to the house soon, Raven is going to die!"

After those words, the phone beeped, signaling that Nightwing had hung up.

-X-x-X-

Was she dead yet? The searing pain that shot up her body when she tried to move told her that she wasn't yet.

How could I have been so stupid? Lia thought as her mind drifted back to the fight earlier she had had with her cousin. How long ago was it? Minutes? Hours? Was Raven already dead? Dear Azar…why hadn't she just rested and saved her strength!?

Lia lifted her head up slightly, her vision blurring a bit. Was this it? Was she finally going to die?

Hardly, a voice snorted in her head. You may be broken to bits, but eventually your body will heal. Don't move for a while. Help is coming.

Lia's eyes widened as she realized it was the voice from earlier that had helped her during the fight. Who are you? Lia thought. And how did you know what was happening?

How rude. How can you forget me? I've been beside you ever since James gave you to me.

Lia's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Mattie?"

Yes, who did you think I was? Lia looked shocked as the hooded shadow suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, its head bobbing.

"How…how can I hear you?" Lia asked, the pain momentarily forgotten over this new discovery.

I gave you the ability to shadow speak. Mattie told her matter-of-factly. I had to help you during your fight. James trusted me to protect you…though fat lot of good my help did. You still had your ass kicked.

The way Mattie spoke highly contradicted his innocent looks as he tilted his head to the side, almost looking like an adorable plush toy.

"Wait," Lia said, going back over Mattie's words. "You said help was coming. What do you mean by 'help'?"

James of course. Mattie rolled his eyes, as if this information was obvious. I informed him last night when I saw that Tray would find out what you were up to. He's returning from the Underworld as we speak.

"The Underworld?!" Lia gasped in shock. She moaned as a sharp pain hit her. She had moved her legs.

I told you not to move! Mattie scolded, his black tentacle-like limbs stretching out towards her legs, soothing them as they wrapped over the wounded places. That will help make the pain tolerable, but I don't have the ability to heal so don't move them or else they'll just get worse.

"W-why…" Lia panted, her strength wearing out even more. She had forgotten the stab wounds Tray had given her. She had lost too much blood already. "Is James in the Underworld?"

This piece of news shocked her, for only high status beings such as the Spirits and Whisperers could travel back and forth from the Underworld. Other immortals such as herself only saw the Underworld when they died and were on their way towards hell. No demon could set foot in the Underworld because they did not have the social standing for it. Did this mean that James did?

Mattie paused in thought, his head tilting up to signify that he was thinking. I can't tell you.

"Why not?" Lia demanded.

Because James doesn't want me to. Mattie said, his voice sounding amused.

"Are you talking to him right now?" Lia asked, her eyes growing wide. Never before had she heard of someone who could speak to a Shadow that wasn't directly attached to him! Most of the time, when Shadow Speakers wanted to correspond with another far away, they had to speak through other Shadows who passed the information to other Shadows until eventually it reached the other person. It was almost kind of like a telephone line.

Yes, Mattie informed her. Although I am not directly attached to James, we can still speak to each other because we are bonded.

"Bonded? What's that?"

It's when Shadows pick someone who they will stay with eternally. I picked James, so our connection is much more deeper than other Shadows. Mattie explained.

"Oh," Lia mused, thinking. "Wait, since you gave me the ability to Shadow Speak…does this mean I will always have this ability or can you take it away?"

You will always have it. Once the ability is given to you, no one can take it away. That is why there are so little Shadow Speakers, because we don't give the ability to those who don't deserve it.

"Wow…cool…" Lia murmured, feeling like she had been honored.

Hm…

"What? What's going on?" Lia asked as she looked at Mattie, who was in thought.

It seems your cousin reached Raven, and Raven's fiancé has found out what Tray's true intentions are.

"Wait, Raven's not dead yet?" Lia tried to move up but hissed in pain when she fell back down. Her legs were still broken after all.

Mattie glared at her for moving but answered her question, No, she is still alive. Tray will not kill her off immediately. He wants to wait for her fiancé to return so that he can watch them suffer. It seems he was going to kill all of them from the beginning.

Lia's heart almost stopped. Of course. How could she believe that her cousin would spare Raven's fiancé? He was going to kill them all of course! He reveled in people's pain like that! She had to stop him! But damn her weakness right now.

"Mattie! We have to do something! Go to Raven and protect her! Do anything! Just save her!" Lia begged.

I cannot do that. Mattie shook his head sadly. My mission is to stay with you, and besides, even if I go to Raven, I can only give her advice, I cannot save her. And no matter what I tell her, she cannot do anything either with that baby. He is supported by her powers. If she were to use any of them, she is basically taking away life essence from the baby's demonic side.

"But…but!" Lia bit her lip in worry. At this rate, Raven was going to die!

Don't worry, Lia. Mattie reassured her. Lia looked at his childlike eyes. Remember, James is still out there. He can help Raven.

Mattie was right. The only thing Lia could do now was hope that James wasn't too late.

-X-x-X-

She couldn't believe it. Fear had been right all along: Tray had become evil. Raven eyed the dagger finger that precariously hovered near her neck, poised as if to slit it at any moment. Tray had alit the room with a soft and harmless glow, allowing her to see him fully.

"This would have been so much easier had you picked me instead, Raven." Tray sighed, lowering his head so that he was eye to eye with Raven. "But since you picked your fiancé, I guess you'll just have to suffer the consequences."

"What exactly do you want, Tray?" Raven asked coldly, glaring at her used-to-be best friend.

"And here I thought you were smarter than that." Tray made a "tsking" sound with his tongue, shaking his head disapprovingly as he stood up straight. He smiled wickedly as he looked down at Raven. "Of course, I want your powers and the child's too if he has any. Imagine, to have the powers of Trigon's legacy. I'll be even more powerful than I am now."

"That's all you care about?" Raven growled angrily. "Power?"

"What else is there to care about?" Tray smirked. "Isn't that what the priests on Azarath taught us? That power is all you should care about?"

"I thought you didn't like those priests." Raven narrowed her eyes at Tray.

"I didn't. That's exactly why I killed them." Raven's eyes widened with shock.

"Y-you…you killed them!?"

Tray's smirk became wider, "Aw, don't give me that look Raven. Aren't you happy to be free of those priests?"

"Not if I'm a prisoner of you." Raven hissed, glaring at him and wishing it could kill him.

Tray paused in thought, tilting his head as if he were listening for something. He smiled widely, showing his teeth, and got up from his resting position against the wall. "Don't worry, Raven. Soon you won't be my prisoner anymore, although I can't say the same for your fiancé. I would sure love a new toy to play with once you're gone."

Raven's eyes widened with shock as her head turned towards Tray, who was waiting by the front door, a deadly look on his face and his dagger fingers poised, ready to go for the kill.

-X-x-X-

When Ryan screeched to a stop in front of the house, he realized the lights were off. Was he already too late? Had Tray killed Raven? Where the hell were those Titans!?

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Ryan ran out of the car and towards the door, throwing it open. The moment the door was fully wide opened, a strong wind threw Ryan outwards, his body landing on top of Hannah's car. He groaned as he rolled off and hit the pavement. Hannah screamed in shock, her and Riley rushing out of the car.

"I knew you wouldn't do what I asked, Hannah Whither." Tray sighed, coming out from the shadows of the house and stepping onto the driveway. "You have a conscience, you're weak."

"Killing them is going too far!" Hannah screamed, stamping her foot in frustration. "You never said you would kill Raven!"

"And what did you think I was going to do to her?" Tray asked, his hand reaching out towards Hannah. Hannah gagged as her throat became constricted, her body slowly levitating off the ground. Her feet kicked back and forth as she clawed at her neck, trying to make him let go.

"Let her go!" Both Ryan and Riley growled as they both barreled into Tray, sending him backwards that his control over Hannah slipped and she fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Tray growled and turned on Ryan and Riley, lashing out at them with his fire powers. The two quickly dodged, getting into a routine fighting mode. After all, the two had taken judo and karate lessons since they were young together. They had trained together; they knew each other's movements as they swiftly dodged Tray's attacks like synchronous dancers.

"Ryan!" Nightwing called out in surprise when the Titans finally reached the scene. They quickly rushed to help their friend in need, but Tray placed a barrier around them, occupying them with tearing it down. It would be a while before they escaped, which was good. Tray didn't want any more distractions for they would limit his use of power if he tried to fight too many people at the same time.

While he was distracted with the Titans, both Ryan and Riley went in for an attack. However, Tray saw this and grabbed Riley's arm and threw him towards Ryan, knocking them both back into the walls of the house.

"That's enough!" Tray snarled as his crimson eyes grew brighter, the fire in his hands growing bigger. The ground began to shake vigorously as a chasm opened in front of Tray, smoke hissing. Everyone just watched this new development, too shocked and unable to move as Tray pressured his power against them all leaving them trapped. Tray drew signs into the air that glowed brightly.

"Don't let him complete those signs! He's summoning the Spirits!" Raven yelled as she ran out of the house. Being occupied with the fighting outside, Tray had let go of his hold of Raven.

"Raven!" Ryan looked back at Tray who had spotted Raven out of the corner of his eyes. He threw his fire power at her, and Raven felt paralyzed as Ryan tried to run towards her. But he couldn't move! Raven was going to burn!

Suddenly Tray's fire exploded, coming into contact with a wall of fire.

"What?!" Tray growled. "What the hell is this?" His eyes turned towards Raven, noting that she was glowing with the magical glow. But that was impossible. Raven was weak and shouldn't have her powers, unless…it was her child! His eyes widened with realization. That meant the baby was indeed powerful, and never had he seen such power from an unborn child! Tray had to get his hands on that power.

Beckoning Raven with his finger, she was pulled towards him by his telekinesis. "Raven!" Ryan shouted out, but he was pushed harder against the walls of the house by Tray. Raven was pulled into Tray's arms as he smirked.

"So it turns out that the child is powerful. Well, this is better than I expected!"

"You can't have him!" Raven protectively held her stomach.

"You have no say in the matter, Raven, dear. Now help me finish these marks." Tray grabbed Raven's arm and as much as she struggled against him she couldn't break free; she was practically human with her depleted powers! Raven let out a yelp of pain as Tray cut her arm, rubbing his fingers against the blood and making some more symbols in the air. He then cut his own arm and rubbed Raven's fingers in it, guiding her hand to write out the final symbols.

Once the last line was drawn, the symbols glowed and meshed together, soaring down the chasm where they would call upon the Spirits. Tray smiled, lowering his head and whispering in her ear, "Remember what I said about not being my prisoner anymore, Raven?"

Raven's eyes widened as she finally realized what Tray was doing. He was going to sacrifice her to the Spirits. After all, she had been the one who had broken the blood pact by choosing Ryan. Tray had done nothing. They would offer her powers to him as compensation for losing her. He didn't need to get his hands dirty at all! The Spirits would do it all for him!

Raven stared down at the chasm as it hissed more wildly, something surging within it. She had to cover her eyes as white lights flashed and bathed everyone. It was already too late. The Spirits were here. Tray had won after all.

-X-x-X-

Lia's eyes fluttered unsteadily as she slipped between life and death. Her legs were beaten and bruised, beyond repair it almost seemed. The blood from the stab woods had encrusted around the edges and turned to a very dark red that it almost appeared black.

"Mattie," Lia breathed as she closed her eyes. "Am I going to die?"

Although earlier Mattie had implied that she wouldn't die, she didn't feel so confident in his words right now.

Are you going to let yourself die? Mattie asked, sounding like a serious, ancient philosopher asking for the meaning of life.

"Stop with the bullshit," Lia hissed. "Don't answer my question with a question!"

Jeez, no need to get bitchy. Mattie rolled his eyes. You're not going to die. Shadow's honor. And you know I cannot lie.

"Then why do I feel like I'm dying already." Lia moved her head to press it against the cool floor. What was going on outside? Had everyone defeated Tray already?

Tray has not won yet, but then again, neither have your friends. Right now, the future can go either way, but the deciding factor is how helpful James turns out to be.

"There you go again saying things I don't understand," Lia opened her eyes and looked at Mattie. "Exactly how can James help? How powerful is he? Why did he go to the Underworld?"

Mattie became quiet.

"Please Mattie," Lia breathed. "I need to know this. To see whether Raven has a chance or not. I need…I need something. Please…"

Mattie shook his head, as if he were sighing. All right, I will tell you. Mattie straightened and almost looked taller than he was for a moment. James is not an ordinary immortal. He is much more powerful than my kind, and even has the power to defy the Spirits as long as there is good reason to.

"He's that powerful?" Lia wondered in amazement. "Just who is he?"

Mattie chuckled, You may not believe this…but James is what people believe is the "Grim Reaper". Of course, he really has no name, but since ever the belief of a God of death was birthed, this name has been tacked to him by others.

"Grim Reaper?" Lia repeated, not believing it for a moment. Weren't such things a myth? There really was a God of Death? Lia's eyes suddenly shoot open as she realized something. The passage in the book had said something like, "Death may be your Savior." She had been taking the word 'Death' so literally before, but with this new piece of information, she realized that 'Death' was not actually dying but "Death" himself!

The Grim Reaper.

-X-x-X-

Raven had to stop herself from wanting to laugh. It was the wrong kind of situation to laugh in, when her life was on the line. But the way she had imagined the Spirits in her head was nothing like this! They reminded her of those various Santa Clauses that stood on streets ringing bells to gather money.

The Spirits, some stout and short and others tall and lanky, all had the same white robes that you kind of expected people of religion to wear instead of demon lords, and long white beards that touched the floor. Some of them had moustaches as well. Their faces were unclear, always seeming to change once in a while.

They were not really the intimidating image Raven had built up in her mind, until they spoke.

"What does a half demon such as you, Tray Leon Reeves, son of Damascus, want with us?" The deep, bellowing voice of the Spirit caused Raven to shiver in fear. She could hear and feel the power resounding in their voices. They were the kind of demons you did not want to mess with.

"My lords," Tray said respectively, bowing his head. "I come to you with a sacrifice."

"A sacrifice?" Another Spirit said, his eyes traveling to Raven who was still clutched by Tray. He frowned, "You better have good reason to sacrifice the sole daughter of our Demon King Trigon, Tray Reeves."

"I do, my lords." Tray's head was still bowed. "She dares to break a blood pact made in your honor."

"What!" the Spirits bellowed, such an atrocity never happening to them.

Tray looked up this time, looking disgusted, "And with a human man, no less."

"A human?!" The Spirits looked at each other in disbelief. Never before had a demon broken a blood pact over a human.

"My lords," Raven quickly said, trying to think of a way to convince them of Tray's true intentions. "You do not understand. Tray—"

"SILENCE!" Raven was almost blown off her feet with this yell. Her body trembled in fear as an automatic response to the power of their voices. "You may be the daughter of Trigon, Raven Roth, but do not forget you are also half human as well. You have no right to break our laws."

"I beg to differ, my lords." At that moment, everyone turned to the newcomer. No one had even seen the blond man before as his blue eyes seemed serious yet playful. The black robe he adorned contrasted with his ivory skin.

"You!" Tray hissed as he recognized him as the man his cousin had been plotting with. "What are you doing here?!"

"Zip it," was all the man said as he motioned his hand in a "zipping" action. Tray's mouth was suddenly shut closed and he clawed at it to open it, but it wouldn't.

"James," the Spirits acknowledged the newcomer. "It has been centuries since we last met."

"Ah yes, I remember." James smiled as he reminisced. "Last time I showed up, I took your poor victim away from you. I'm terribly sorry about that my lords, but it is my duty to gather the souls who die, despite who's after them."

"Yes, we know." The Spirits sighed irritably. "What brings you here today?"

"Another one of my missions, actually." James said merrily. His eyes turned towards Raven. "I'm sorry to say this, my lords, but you cannot take Raven Roth today."

"And why not?" The Spirits demanded. "She has broken our law!"

"Very true," James noted. "But so has that man standing beside her. I'm sure you were unaware of this, but did you know he has been gallivanting around the universe stealing the powers of others? Doesn't that taint your image? If others were to know that the Spirits had allowed this man to kill others and steal their powers, wouldn't that make you look bad in the eyes of your followers?"

The Spirits looked at each other, knowing that what James said was the truth. They looked towards Tray, their faces angry. "So, Tray Reeves, did you mean to steal Raven's powers as well by offering her as a sacrifice?" They didn't need an answer for the look on everyone's faces answered their question. "I don't see why we shouldn't kill both of you."

"Uh-ah, my lords." James scolded. "Like I said, you cannot take Ms. Raven Roth today. She cannot die today, but Tray Reeves you can gladly take. I was scheduled to collect his soul today anyway."

Tray angrily looked at James, wishing he could kill him, but that zipping effect he had put on him seemed to have numbed his senses so he could not feel his powers and call upon them.

"And why can we not take Raven, James? Is there a good reason to let her live?" The Spirits turned towards the Death God who smiled as happily as can be.

"In fact, there is." James looked at Raven and smiled softly. "This woman carries a powerful child. I believe this child has a greater purpose than you may think, which is why Raven Roth does not die until much, much later. I think this child will grow up to be a wonderful demon that will make you Spirits proud."

The Spirits thought of this, silently conversing with each other with their eyes. After a few silent moments, the Spirits turned towards Raven, "Raven Roth, because of this new revelation, we will forgive you and unbind you from the blood pact you had with Tray Reeves."

Raven looked at the Spirits, not believing her ears for a moment. She was…forgiven? She could live? She was safe? She almost broke down and cried then, but she kept her composure and bowed to the Spirits, "Thank you, my lords."

The Spirits smiled at her, but then turned on Tray, "As for you Tray Reeves, as punishment for breaking the law and attempting to manipulate the Spirits, we hereby banish you to the depths of hell where you suffer a thousand deaths for the rest of your life." White chains clasped around his feet, wrists, and neck, bonding him for life. The chasm opened wider, the Spirits beginning their descent and dragging Tray with them.

Tray couldn't believe it. Because of that stupid Shadow Speaking bastard, he had lost! He had lost! All his years of work! "No!" Tray growled, the zipping effect James had put on him gone. His dagger-like fingers had returned, burning with his fire power so that they were blazing white. "I will not go down alone!" Thinking he was aiming for Raven, the Spirits put a protective barrier around her, but Tray instead whirled around and aimed at Hannah, who had been frozen with shock and fear where she had fallen after Tray had let her go.

Hannah's eyes widened as the hot blood splattered against her face. Tray's blades were pulled out as he was dragged faster down the chasm, screaming bloody murder. The chasm closed with a resounding boom, the floor retuning to its original state. A body fell into Hannah's hands.

"R-…Riley…" Hannah hands shook as she looked down at the man. There were five bleeding holes in his chest. He smiled weakly at her, the blood from the wounds dripping onto her fingers.

"Ha," he winced but smiled nonetheless. "I guess I am a stupid fool after all."

"N-no…Riley, you can't die!" Hannah screamed, the information finally registering into her head. She looked up at the Titans, Raven, and Ryan who all had shocked faces like her. She turned towards James. "Save him! You're some kind of Death God, right?! Can't you save him!?"

James sighed, shaking his head sadly, "I'm sorry, but I only collect souls when it's their time. I cannot stop death."

Hannah shook her head disbelievingly, and turned to the rest, "Raven! Can't you heal him! Can't you do anything?!"

"My powers are already weak and I can't heal wounds to that extent!" Raven sadly told her, wishing that she too could do something.

"No!" Hannah screamed defiantly, the tears spilling from her eyes. "This isn't right! I should have died! I…I should have died…" She sobbed.

"Hannah," Riley's weak voice called out. Hannah looked down at him, grabbing his face in her hands. He smiled like he usually did, as if he weren't dying, saying three simple words: "I love you."

Hannah cried harder, hugging Riley as tightly as she could. "No, no, no! I love you, Riley! Don't die, please, dear God, don't die! I love you!"

Riley smiled, closing his eyes, "You finally told me you loved me. I knew it."

Hannah looked down at him, feeling like more of an idiot that ever. Why now? Why did she have to realize that she really did love Riley when he was dying?! Was fate really so cruel?

"Ry?" Riley said quietly, trying to turn to look at his friend.

"I'm right here, Riley." Ryan quickly knelt down next to his friend, grabbing his hand. Although he tried hard to keep his usual face, his eyes were clearly sad and clenched tightly, wanting to cry themselves.

Riley smiled and said between coughs, "I'm sorry, Ry. I'm sorry I was so selfish. I hope you can forgive me."

Ryan looked down at his friend, squeezing his hand, "Of course I forgive you."

"That's good," Riley murmured as he became less tense. "I guess I can die in peace now."

"Don't say that!" Hannah interrupted. "Don't say that like you're going to die!"

Riley smiled gently, reaching up to stroke Hannah's cheek softly. Using Hannah to steady himself and Ryan supporting him, Riley sat up slowly and wrapped his arms around Hannah, whispering in her ear, "It's alright Hannah, I'll still be with you." He squeezed his arms tighter around her and rubbed her back soothingly as if to reassure her. Hannah's lip quivered, tears threatening to spill from her eyes again. Then suddenly Riley's grip loosened around her.

"Riley?" Hannah said softly, wanting what his loose grip meant to not be true. Panic started to grow in her as she shook him a little. "Riley?"

"He's gone." Hannah looked up at James, his face grave. "He's already gone."

James' words only finalized everything and Hannah cried out, sobbing into the chest of Riley's dead body. "Why!? Why him!? Why not me!? Why not me!"

Nobody could answer her questions, only watch sadly as Hannah cried beside Riley's dead body until she could cry no more.

-X-x-X-

March 17: 3 Days Left

"Now say 'Ah'," James smiled as he held out the spoon full of soup towards Lia, who looked pissed. After the whole event with Tray, James went to Lia who, at the time, thought she really was going to die. James had then patched Lia up by healing her stab wounds and hooking her up to an IV to replace all the lost blood, but her legs were broken beyond his ability to repair so she was stuck in casts and in bed for the time being with James taking care of her. She would be fully healed in a couple of days though because she was regaining her demon strength.

"I'm not a baby, James." Lia muttered as she crossed her arms. "And it's my legs that are broken, not my arms so I can feed myself."

"Aw," James pouted. "But this is more fun, love."

"Fun?" Lia snorted. "How is it fun?"

James smiled and answered her simply, "Because every time I shower you with affection, you blush, and it's cute." Lia blushed at his words and he laughed, causing her to swipe the soup bowl from him and grumble something about 'crazy weird death gods', but her cheeks were still rosy.

A knock on the door caused Lia to sigh in relief as she chimed, "Come in."

Raven popped her head in and smiled at Lia. "Feeling any better?"

"I would feel a lot better if James over here wasn't treating me like a baby." Lia shot a glare in said man's direction, but he just smiled in response.

Raven chuckled and came into the room holding flowers. James took those from her and went to go put them in a vase as Raven and Lia talked. They discussed the wedding and the baby.

"By the way, Lia, I'd like to ask you something…"

"What is it?" Lia tilted her head in curiosity, something she had picked up from Mattie.

"Would you like to be my maid of honor?" Raven asked. "I mean, you did so much for Ryan and me. I would really love it if you were my maid of honor."

"Raven…I…" Lia was shocked, for the lack of a better word. She hadn't expected this, but she smiled at Raven, "Of course I will be your maid of honor! Thank you for thinking of me!"

Raven smiled back, "No, thank you Lia."

"Did you hear that James?" Lia asked as she spotted James in the doorway. He smiled at her.

"I did. Congratulations, Lia."

"Not only that," Raven turned to James. "Ryan was wondering if you'd like to be his best man, James. He feels like he owes you after saving me."

James laughed heartily, "You can tell him it was pleasure and that he doesn't owe me. But if he would like me to, I will be more than happy to be his best man." James paused then, and carefully said his next words, "By the way, how is Ms. Whither doing?"

At the mention of Hannah, Raven face was saddened. "She…" Raven looked at her feet. "She's become reclusive. She won't even talk to Ryan."

"I see," James looked at Raven. "I noticed you were wearing a black dress today."

Raven, surprised he had said this, looked down at her simple black dress with her belly sticking out. "Yes, today is the funeral. I just stopped by for the quick visit. Ah…actually, I should leave now. Ryan is probably getting impatient."

"Oh, okay," Lia murmured. She had learned what had happened about Riley from Mattie. She wished she could have done something saved him, but it was too late now.

Raven bid James and Lia goodbye and headed back out to the car. As she slid into the driver's seat, she saw that although he tried not to look like it, Ryan had been crying. His red, puffy eyes were a tell tale sign.

Raven smiled gently, and grabbed Ryan's hand, entwining their fingers together. She rubbed his hand soothingly with her thumb and she felt him squeeze her hand in response. There was no need for words. Just this silent communication.

-X-x-X-

There were many tears at Riley's funeral, but not a single one of them came from Hannah. She had cried all the tears she seemed to have left when Riley had died.

"Isn't it just sad?" an old woman said to another. "He was so young. Full of promise."

The other woman shook her head, "I know. Wonder how he got caught in the middle of a gang war. I heard five bullets went right through him!"

Hannah almost wanted to burst out laughing then. So that's how they thought Riley had died. Of course they couldn't tell them that Riley had gotten stabbed by a demon—no one would believe it. Hannah was now the only one standing in front of the grave, the others having left to go to an after party where they would reminisce over Riley. She didn't want to remember. It would only bring up the memories of how she had ignored her feelings for Riley and treated him like crap. How she waited until he was dying to tell him that she loved him. No…she didn't want to relive those memories.

"Riley…" Hannah murmured as she fell to her knees in front of the grave, staring at the epitaph on the gravestone:

Riley Alexander Summers

June 15, 1999 – March 13, 2020

A wonderful son and friend who will never be forgotten.

May he live on in our hearts.

Hannah chuckled bitterly. Did she even have a heart left for him to live in? "Riley…" she said sadly, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry." She looked up, wanting to cry but her eyes dry. Why couldn't she cry?

"Are you alright, miss?" Hannah's head spun up, looking at the man standing beside her. The sun blinded her for a moment but from the man's silhouette, he kind of looked like…

"Riley?" Hannah murmured disbelievingly.

"I'm sorry, what?" the man said. Hannah stood up this time and was disappointed to find that she was wrong. It was not Riley. Of course it wasn't.

This man had a similar build to Riley, but he was different. He didn't have Riley's creamy skin; instead, he had a caramel tone. And while Riley had green eyes and blond hair, this guy had dark brown hair with honey-colored eyes. He clearly wasn't Riley…yet why did Hannah feel like she was standing with Riley right now?

"Miss, are you alright?" the man repeated.

Hannah finally reacted to his words, looking at him, "No…I'm…" she trailed off. She was going to say she was fine, but she didn't feel that way. "I'm not alright."

The man tilted his head slightly with a curious look on his face. Hannah almost wanted to rub her eyes and see if she was seeing things. For a moment, she had been reminded of Riley. That kind of thing seemed exactly like something he would do.

The man looked down at the grave and once he saw what it said, he asked, "Your lover?"

Hannah looked down at the grave as well, "Sort of."

"Sort of?" the man questioned. Now normally one wouldn't talk to a complete stranger about their dead lover, but Hannah felt the need to talk and the man didn't appear bad.

"He always loved me, but I didn't know that I loved him until he died." Hannah smiled bitterly. "He died in my arms, you know? And that's when it hit me: I didn't want to lose him…but I was already too late."

After an awkward silence, the man murmured, "I'm sorry…you know…" The man paused for a moment before offering, "You could cry on my shoulder if you want to."

As if that was what her tears were waiting for, Hannah burst out crying, clutching the stranger's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back soothingly. They acted like they had done this before and nothing was awkward about it. The man patiently waited until Hannah's sobs subsided.

"I'm sorry," she said as she rubbed her eyes, glad she had not worn any makeup. "I ruined your jacket."

"It's alright," the man smiled. "It seemed like you really wanted someone to cry on."

Another awkward silence ensued. Hannah just realized she had cried on a complete stranger's shoulder and had told him about Riley dying. Why had she done that? But for some reason, he didn't feel like a stranger. Hannah shook her head. No…how could she be thinking of another man when Riley had just died?

As if he had read her thoughts, the man said, "You know…if I were your lover, and I had a died, I know you would be sad about me dying, but I would want you to move on and continue to love because that's what's best for you."

Hannah turned to look at the man in surprise, as if the words have come from Riley himself. Thinking he had said something weird, the man quickly added, "I mean, that's what I think your lover would want you to do."

Looking at the sheepish man, Hannah wondered if this was a message of some kind from Riley. Was he telling her it was okay to move on? To love again? Hannah looked back down at the grave, then looked back up at the man and smiled softly, "We never introduced ourselves. I'm Hannah Whither."

The man looked at Hannah's outstretched hand in shock, but he shook it nonetheless with a happy smile, "David Levine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Levine."

"Likewise, Ms. Whither."

-X-x-X-

March 20: WEDDING DAY!!

"Raven, you're going to ruin your dress if you keep pacing like that." Rona frowned.

"I'm sorry," Raven breathed. "I'm just—"

"Nervous, we know, this is the fifteenth time you've said it," Lia muttered. She had completely healed just yesterday and was glad to be back up on her feet, even if she was in shoes she detested. The silver strappy heels she adorned along with the strapless wine red knee-length bridesmaid dress were not her idea of comfortable, but she silently endured it for Raven's sake. She was the maid of honor after all.

Lia, don't be so mean to Raven. What if it was your wedding day? You'd be nervous too. Lia stared at the Shadow clinging to her shoulder. After she had healed, James and Mattie had given her present: a Shadow of her own that bonded with her. Her name was Kilea, and she looked a lot like Mattie, being his "daughter"(1), with her wide, innocent eyes and her small stature. But she was actually as innocent as she appeared unlike Mattie.

Lia sighed, "Sorry for being snappy, Raven. I guess the pressure's getting to us all."

"It's alright. You're absolutely right anyway, I am nervous." Raven sighed and looked in the mirror again, surprised once again that the woman in the mirror was her. They say that when a woman is about to get married or is pregnant, she glows, and boy did she! The dress, which was not the traditional white but a creamy, light golden color to match with the wine red, was flowing and not tight at all, due to her pregnancy. It was strapless, with a wine red bow tied under her chest, but the silk skirt flowed over her belly softly like a waterfall, showing that Raven was carrying a child and not shy to hide it. Raven smiled as she rubbed her belly. It was becoming a habit, and she wondered faintly what she would do once the baby was born, but she couldn't help but find herself in awe as she was reminded that she was carrying a tiny life inside of her. Ah, motherhood.

Just when it seemed her nerves were calmed, James stuck his head into the room and announced, "It's almost time." Immediately Raven went into a panic again and the women tried to calm her down.

"Just breathe, Raven, you'll be fine," Rona kissed Raven's forehead in a motherly way and smiled at Raven. "I'm so happy for you dear."

Raven smiled back at Rona, "Thank you, Rona." The poor woman almost looked on the verge of tears with those words. She just shook her head in a laughing manner afterwards and quickly left the room to take her seat beside Vincent.

Lia tried to keep Raven relaxed after that. "Don't worry, Raven. Soon this will all be over and you'll be married to the man of your dreams with a little baby in your arms." Lia smiled as she fixed Raven's veil real quick.

"Lia, we're lining up," Starfire informed them as she took Nightwing's—one of Ryan's groomsmen—arm in her own.

"Alright, you ready, Raven?" Lia asked one last time, Raven's hands clasped in her own. Raven nodded, her senses tingling as her emotions went crazy in her head.

Raven started to count off in her head as she faintly heard the music and watched as one by one the pair of bridesmaids and groomsmen, which wasn't much just Starfire and Nightwing and Hannah and her new love interest, David. Hannah had come to Raven and apologized for everything after Riley's funeral, and she seemed a changed woman, which Raven suspected was because of Riley's death and the appearance of David.

Raven was suddenly brought out of her thoughts as she realized Lia was leaving already. She would soon follow. After taking in a deep breath and letting it out, Raven stepped out of the hallway and onto the aisle. The moment she saw Ryan standing at the end of the aisle with a smile on her face, it took all she had to not run down the aisle and into his arms.

The music seemed slow suddenly and she wished it were faster as she took each step with the goal of reaching Ryan in mind.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but were actually mere seconds, Raven reached Ryan. He took her hand in his, giving it a loving squeeze as they smiled at each other then faced the pastor. The pastor's words didn't even register in Raven's head, and she faintly worried she wouldn't say "I do" at the right time. But as she stared into Ryan's eyes, which looked so happy, the worry started to ebb away.

"I do," Ryan said, snapping Raven out of her dazed state to hear the pastor ask her if she would eternally love Ryan or something of the sort.

"I do," Raven said firmly, their eyes never breaking away from each other.

"Then by the power invested in me by the City of Jump(2), I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Ryan smiled more widely then, softly grabbing Raven's face and leaning down, planting a soft and gentle kiss on her lips. The crowd cheered, throwing up confetti, celebrating the new couple. But Raven didn't pay attention to anyone, she was too busy absorbed in Ryan's sweet and passionate kisses.

-X-x-X-

Epilogue: Just Perfect

April 17, 2020(3)

Ryan paced back and forth worriedly as he waited outside of the delivery room. He had been in there before Dr. Mathewson ordered him out after Raven screamed and threatened to cut off his…ahem, anyway, Dr. Mathewson believed he was a distraction to Raven's concentration.

His family, along with Hannah, Lia, James, and the Titans, waited patiently in the waiting room for the news.

"I'm so glad I'm not empathic," Lia said as she winced at a screech that had come from the delivery room. She wasn't sure if it was Raven, but it had sounded painful.

Lucky you, Mattie sarcastically snorted as he and Kilea winced. They, of course, knew everything that was happening in the delivery room.

After a few more minutes of Ryan pacing, the doors to the delivery room opened and Dr. Mathewson stepped out. She smiled towards everyone and announced, "A healthy baby boy."

Although they had known the gender ahead of time, everyone couldn't help but be excited by this news. Everyone rushed to congratulate Ryan before Dr. Mathewson whisked him away to the room Raven was staying in.

When Ryan stepped through the doors, Raven was lying on the bed with a bundle in her arms. She cooed to it and held out her fingers, little fingers peeping out form the bundle and grabbing onto her fingers. She looked up and spotted Ryan and smiled, "Want to come see your son?"

Those magical words brought Ryan forward as he stopped to stand next to Raven, peering down at the face in the bundle. The baby turned to look at Ryan, his baby blue eyes with speckles of purple here and there staring at him. Ryan broke out into a huge smile then, the baby following suit and laughing as he reached out towards his father. Ryan offered him his finger and the baby gripped it, laughing and comprehending that this was his father.

"Have you thought of any names?" Raven asked as she looked at Ryan.

"Yeah…" Ryan said quietly, smiling at Raven. "What do you think of Ayden Riley Xander(4)?"

"Ayden Riley Xander," Raven repeated as she tested it out on her lips. She smiled, "It's perfect." Ravenlooked down at their son lovingly. "Everything is just perfect."

Ryan smiled as he looked at Raven. She turned to look at him questionably, but Ryan just leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled away, loving the blush on Raven's cheeks, he agreed, "Yes, everything is just perfect."

Raven smiled, moving up to kiss Ryan once again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I was debating whether to make this the last chap or the epilogue the last one, but since the epilogue is so short anyway, I stuck it on the end of here instead. I was also going to update later...but I fear I might become busy soon and end up waiting till much later to post this so I just decided to post it now. :)

Anyways, this is the end of Baby, Be Mine. :( So thank you SO MUCH (really, I can't exactly even say how grateful I am) to everyone who read and reviewed this story! You guys are the greatest and thank you so much for reading it despite that I lagged on updating at times! THANK YOU!!! :D I love you all!

And a BIG, HUGE, ENORMOUS, [Insert other adjective that means "large" here], thanks to Ivy, of course, who is the coolest and most awesomest (Yes, it's a word according to me :P) twin ever! She's the one that brought about this story and I thank her for dealing with my evilness, writer's blocks, and spazz/rant out sessions. You rock, Ivy! :D

Ah, but again I say (well, I always say this in real life): WHY DO ALL THE LOVABLE, FUNNY CHARACTERS HAVE TO DIE IN THE END? T__T (Like in SAW, they kill off the funny guy who risks his life to save the doctor instead of the cheating doctor!) Ahem, but anyway, I feel sad that Riley had to die (he was one of my favorite characters next to Ryan) but his death was needed to transform Hannah. :( I know, why didn't I just kill her instead? I'm not sure myself, but I felt like it'd be more powerful if Riley died to teach Hannah the true meaning of love. Sacrifices must be made! TT___TT (I'm sorry Riley, I swear I loved you as a one of my OCs!)

Among other things, I have planned (and actually have started already) a SEQUEL to this story! I will not spoil it for you guys, but I will say the story will focus on Ryan and Raven's son, Ayden! And you will see characters from this story in that story [whether it be a short mention or a full on appearance] and many new characters as well! So look forward to that! It will be called "Maybe It's Fate".

Anyway, thanks again for reading and reviewing everyone! :D Till next time!

Ciao,

Xaleria

(1) I thought of explaining this in the story, but found it hard to stick it somewhere so I will just explain it. Kilea is technically Mattie's daughter, but Shadows don't give live births or lay eggs. They are more like cells and divide themselves to make a new Shadow. And thus Kilea was born! :D And although Mattie is bonded with James, Kilea is not because although Kilea is literally a part of Mattie, she is still an independent Shadow who can choose who she bonds with (in this case, Lia).

(2) It's actually supposed to be "by the power invested in me by the state of [insert state]" or something like that but since I wasn't sure I just put Jump City! :D

(3) Ahem, as you can see, they are clearly in the future but the way I write sounds a lot like our time. I will say this now: I SUCK at futuristic settings. Every time I try to write them, I somehow fall back in making the setting the present. So let's all pretend that the setting is futuristic along with any of my other stories placed in the future. xD

(4) Remember how I said his name ties in with his powers? Ayden [I pronounce it "A-den" kind of like "Adrian" but without the "r" sound] is a variation of the name "Aiden" which is a Gaelic name meaning "Little fire" (hence the fire powers!). Riley is his middle name and is there, of course, in honor of Ryan's late best friend Riley. When I was looking up names for the baby, this baby names website had "Ryan" in the top list of popular baby names and the name "Aiden" was right above it! I felt like it was fate, don't you? :)