Hidden Within the Earth: Chapter 13: Enemies and Allies

I don't own the Teen Titans

…

"Robin, you've GOT to believe us! All, all that was just misdirection. A con, like he said. He, he completely disarmed your doubt by saying just that! AND made it seem like we were working in collusion with him! I swear to you we're not!"

"Actually, I DON'T have to believe you," replied Robin, coldly. "You've all been keeping some secrets from us ever since you joined up. I've always assumed they were minor ones…now I'm not so sure. Mind you, not saying I believe VLAD, but my faith in the three of you has been shaken, somewhat."

Renseia's hands flapped, nervously. This had been about the worst thing that could have happened. Even a straight-out demonic assault would've been easier to defend against. Which was why Vlad had done it, of course.

Sometimes psychological warfare is the most effective kind. "But we've-"

"I believe them," said Raven, quietly, looking at her hands. The group hadn't moved from their places at the conference table.

"You do? Why?"

"Because," she began, "the whole time Vlad was talking, I noticed something: he kept us off-balance, kept us from asking questions of our own, kept us from actually giving what he was saying any real thought. Instead, he dodged and turned, throwing in just what we'd expect from him…if he really was the 'good guy' who was simply misunderstood, or lied about. It's actually typical demon psychological warfare. I know a few things about demons," she finished, quietly. "Typical demonic misdirection."

Renseia breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Raven. I'm glad at least ONE of you believes us." Such was her relief that it didn't even occur to her how odd it was that it was RAVEN speaking up on their behalf.

"I didn't say I TRUSTED you," snapped the sorceress. "I still think you're hiding something. Just not THAT.

"But I DEFINITELY don't believe HIM. It was too, too easy, and came at just the right time, for it to be completely honest and above-board."

Robin gave the two Elementals a long, hard look. Although he was only human, still Renseia and Solstice found themselves fidgeting under his scrutiny. "Very well. For the moment, I'll give you two the benefit of the doubt. But the doubt's still there." He turned back to the Titans, deliberately excluding the Elementals. "Clearly our… associates …have drawn a blank on allies. Anybody have any ideas? Wild ideas accepted."

"I have one," Starfire said, softly.

…

"No, Star, DEFINITELY not. En Oh. Not gonna happen. It's too risky, too dangerous."

"My love, if you have a better suggestion, now is the time to share it." The two had drawn off into an adjacent room, upon hearing Starfire's suggestion. The others had been almost as shocked as they'd been when Vlad had just contacted them, a couple of them more so. All of them had been of the opinion that Star's suggestion went way beyond the envelope.

"I, I don't-" He turned away, wracking his brains for something, anything, that would be less…outrageous.

"Then this is all that is left. And you must admit, it has certain benefits."

He turned back to her. "But you could be KILLED. Or worse!"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But I will certainly be killed—we all will—if we go to war against this evil demon without numbers on our side. You are our strategist. You know this."

But still he shook his head. "No, Starfire, I can't let you g-"

"Robin." Her voice took on a hint of steel, even as she took both his hands in hers. "You are my beloved, you are my team leader. But you are not my master. If I feel I should do this, for the good of the team, then I will do this, and you cannot stop me. I will do it regardless."

"Then let ME go. I'm team leader; I should be the one who risks-"

"YOU would DEFINITELY not survive, beloved. Not even for a second. Nor would any other of our friends. Even the Elementals could not be assured of lasting even a few moments, where I am going. Besides, your trust in them has been shaken to the core; do not deny it. You know it to be true.

"And you know I am the only one of us who could do this. And I will."

He deflated visibly. He knew he couldn't stop her. He could register his dissent, tell her it was a bad idea. But ultimately, he couldn't really stop her.

But he could support her, give her what she might need to have, where she was going. "Alright. But I can't give my official approval, you know. I have to register this as, as you disobeying orders. 'Because you are."

She leaned forward and kissed him. "I know, beloved. And I am sorry for putting you through this. But I feel it necessary. And I think you will see the logic in it, in time, if you do not already do so. I will return to you, that is a promise. And, should we survive the upcoming conflict, we will celebrate." This last was said with a decidedly naughty expression on her face. Now she released his left hand, and pulled his head in with her right, kissing him in a much more sensual way than before. "Who knows? Perhaps we will celebrate before the conflict. But, either time, I will require you to remove your mask, beloved. And…a few other things. I will, of course, reciprocate." Another kiss. "Now. Let us go make plans."

…

"You two alright?" Renseia had spread a large map of both the Mythic Forest and of Markovia on the table. "I take it you reached an agreement of some sort?"

"I wouldn't say we agreed," sighed Robin, "but we…both see the necessity of this…attempt."

"I have to say, it's something I would never have thought of. But it makes sense. Of course…Starfire, I have to say, your chances of survival aren't great."

"I am aware of this. But I have…much to come back to." As she said this last, she glanced at Robin, who blushed, remembering her promise. Well, if it gave her what she needed to return, he'd do it double. Triple, even.

"Then, I guess we'll begin." Renseia and Solstice got up and drew a magical circle on the floor with some chalk. But Raven realized this was no ordinary magical circle. This was a teleport gate, and no ordinary teleport gate, either. This one was a gate that led to a place very, very few beings had ever ventured. "Starfire, you stand over here, yes, right there in the middle of the circle. There. Like that. Now…Solstice?" And the two of them began a chant…

The circle began to glow, glowing so brightly that they couldn't even see Starfire. Finally, it flared up…and when it died down, Starfire was nowhere to be seen.

She found herself in deep space, far away from the farthest stars. It was very black out here; with her superior vision, she could vaguely see some faint spots that might have been either stars or galaxies. But they didn't claim her attention.

What did was a shimmering portal only a few kilometers away from her. This is it, Koriand'r, she told herself. Last chance to turn back, she told herself, unconsciously mimicking Ray's own thoughts. But where she was going was a great deal more dangerous that the Order of Poseidon. No one will think any less of you…

But she steeled her resolve, and flew towards the portal, the portal into Nekron's dimension.

…

The Mythic Forest: "He's back," said Lilith. The other two looked up from what they were doing. Terra was examining the souvenirs Lilith's father had collected over the years, and Sepia was reading a magazine. Both dropped what they were doing.

Lilith peeked outside the curtains. Sure enough, her father was just coming up the walkway. "Alright, everybody. You know your lines. Stick to 'em."

The door opened, and a tall figure walked in. "Trigon!" exclaimed Terra, putting her hands to her mouth.

"What? Where?" The figure in the doorway looked around nervously, and slammed the door shut. "Quick! Activate the wards!" He looked around. "Where is he?"

"Father," began Lilith, in a calming tone. "That was a…misunderstanding. One of my friends…mistook you for, well, for HIM." She turned to Terra. "Terra?"

"Oh, right." Now that she had time to actually see the figure in the doorway, she saw the differences.

Lilith's father was over seven feet tall, and covered with what looked like soft fur. He did have red eyes (only two of them, however)—Terra supposed that red eyes was the demon norm—but what had led to her misunderstanding was that he had antlers projecting from either side of his head. They protruded out only a few inches, but they were antlers, just like Trigon had had. "I'm sorry, sir. I, I misspoke."

Lilith's father leaned against the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I guess it was the antlers, wasn't it? Glad it wasn't…you know who." He regained his senses. "Lilith? Who are your friends?"

"Father," began Lilith, "this is Terra, and this is my new friend, Sepia. She's a wizard in training. Sepia, I mean. Terra is-"

"Yes, I can see the more than mortal part of her," mused her father.

"Terra, Sepia, this is my father, Antellis." She turned to her father. "How went the cattle buying expedition?"

Antellis seemed to turn a bit evasive, or so it seemed to Terra. "It, uh, went well. I brought home twenty-eight cows."

"I see. And how many did you start out with?"

"Er, thirty-seven."

"You ate NINE COWS on the way home?! FAther!"

"What can I say? I got hungry."

"Yes, but NINE COWS?"

"I was WORRIED about you, okay? I mean, you here, all alone…and that merman of yours hanging around…"

Lilith drew in a deep breath. "Father. This goes beyond mere worry. And you know Ray and I are…just good friends." Another deep breath. "I really think you should start attending Cows Anonymous again."

Antellis scratched an antler. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. Please, father, for me?" Terra had never heard Lilith use that "little girl" tone of voice before.

Antellis's shoulders slumped. He'd clearly do anything for his only child. "Very well. I'll start attending again." Terra thought what a wonder it was, to have a father, a demon father, even, who actually CARED about you. A tinge of jealousy touched her soul… "But I get the impression that's not why you brought your friends over. For that matter, where IS Ray, anyway?" He looked around.

"As a matter of fact…that's why we've gathered here." She looked at the others. "All of us. You see, Ray seems to've gone and joined the Order of Poseidon, and his sister would like him out of there ASAP. Didn't you once tell me you knew someone very important?"

"He joined the WHAT? They'll kill him!"

"That's precisely what Lucy would like to avoid. Can you help us get him out?"

Antellis thought, scratching his head. "Well, it's true I do know—sort of—someone with some pull. But he's not a Wizard, nor in the Order. In fact, he's a demon. A demon Lord, to be precise."

"That's even better!" Lilith literally jumped up and down, clasping her hands in front of her. Terra had never seen her do that before. Serious Lilith? Jumping up and down like a little girl at Christmas? No.

"Er, well, it's kinda not. We, uh, don't get along very well."

Lilith deflated somewhat. "You don't? Why not?"

"We, er, kinda got into a fight, back before you were born."

"You got into a FIGHT with a DEMON LORD?! How did THAT happen?"

"He, he made some comment about your mother…"

"It must've been pretty bad, for you two to hold a grudge all these years. What did he say?"

"It's not important."

"Yes it is. Tell me."

"It's really not important," he said, glancing at Sepia.

"Surely it wasn't THAT bad."

"Well, it wasn't good. We, we got to talking, and I happened to mention I'd married your mother. And he said it wasn't good for demons to marry humans, because it caused nothing but trouble. I told him that Valkyrie was a vampire, and he said that was even worse, since any disagreements, any marital problems we had would literally last forever." He sighed. "Then he said, offhandedly, that he could kinda understand it, since she had those big-*" And he held his hands in front of his chest.

"Right!" broke in Lilith, before he could finish the sentence. "So…then what happened?"

"I, er, punched him in the face."

"You punched him in the face."

"Yes."

"You punched a DEMON LORD in the face."

"Yes. Right in the face. Right in front of his minions. It caught him off-guard, and down he went. He was so embarrassed… Needless to say, we haven't spoken since."

"In all that time? Father, don't you think it's time you buried the hatchet?

"I'd like to bury it in his head."

"C'mon, father," said Lilith, taking him by the arm and leading him over to the crystal ball. "Time to make peace. C'mon. We NEED this guy."

…

The crystal ball cleared, showing what appeared to be a human in his forties. He had night-black hair, and red glowing eyes. He wore a red outfit, with what appeared to be black leather gloves and a belt. "So. Antellis. Have you called to apologize?"

"Er, sort of…"

"Sort of' doesn't get the lava field mowed. Either you do or this conversation ends."

"Look, I'm not calling for myself. I'm calling on behalf of my daughter, Lilith. You remember her."

There was a pause. Then, "Lilith? Your daughter?"

"Yeah. I mean yes. She has a request to make of you."

"Then put her on."

Antellis turned to his daughter, who was just out of field of view. "Lil? It's your show."

Lilith came up to the crystal ball. She looked at the being in the 'ball, and had to admit to a certain amount of intimidation. The demon Lord's gaze was steady, and his aura of power, even through the crystal, was…immense. She couldn't imagine her father, who was not a very strong demon, actually punching this being out. "Er, yes. I mean, your Excellency. I'm Lilith…"

"I know who you are. You would ask a favor of me?"

"Uh, yes. A, a friend of mine has made the mistake of joining the Order of Poseidon. We'd, we'd like to get him out."

"Would you now. Why?"

"Because we're afraid he'll get hurt or, or get changed in some way."

"Who is this friend of yours?"

"His name's Ray, of the Eastern Sea."

The figure nodded. "I know of him. And you are correct; he is not suited for the Knights Oceanus. But getting him out will pose its own problems.

"I have no real standing with the Knights. I was called to speak there once. But that was all. The only way I could assist you in this matter would be to get him expelled. Is that what you want?"

"It isn't what I WANT, but-"

"Why did he join?"

Another deep breath. Terra thought it strange that Lilith, a half-vampire, needed to breathe in the first place. Must be a psychological thing. "We think he joined due to self-esteem issues. Plus the need to, to acquire some, some identity. That plus he maybe felt the need to get some allies."

"Allies? For what?"

Lilith looked at Terra. "One of my friends is under attack by Vlad of Lianna. I don't know if you kn-"

"We're acquainted, though the acquaintance is not exactly a positive one. So. Tell me about this. Why is Vlad after your friend?"

"She's his granddaughter. And apparently very powerful, at least potentially so. Uhm, here, here she is, in fact. Here, Terra, say hi to, uh…I don't believe I caught your name?"

"I am Nemesis, Demon Lord of the Ninth Realm. Now introduce me to your friend."

Lilith pulled an unwilling Terra into the range of the crystal ball. "This is Terra. And, uh, my good friend."

"I see," said Nemesis slowly, his eyes narrowing. Terra got the impression he was examining more than just her outer appearance. "Yessss, I can see the extra mortal part of her. I can see why he'd be interested…but I sense there is more?"

"We think Vlad is trying to find a way to get to Earth-Prime. He wants to eliminate all mortals. And he could, if he gets there."

"I see. Yes, he could. Very well, you have my support."

"Good," said Lilith, breathing a sigh of relief. "So how soon can Ray come home?"

"I did not mean that. I meant you have my support. Vlad and I are old…" and here the Demon Lord smiled coldly, "friends. I do not fear him.

"But as of now, he has reason to fear me."

…

Nekron's dimension: It was COLD here, much more so than ordinary outer space. Starfire could sense the nature of the dimension literally PULLING the energy out of her. "So. Koriand'r of Tameran. Have you come to surrender to the inevitable?" Nekron's skeletal form floated weightlessly in the nothingness that was his universe.

"N-no, I have not. I have come to, to ask for your help."

"My HELP? The last I recall, you and your world REJECTED my help."

"No. We rejected your DOMINATION. There is a difference."

"Enough semantics. You haven't long here in my place. What is your reason for being here?"

"Vlad of Lianna is attacking my world, my adopted world, that is. He seeks to eliminate all mortals. You are Death Incarnate. But you cannot have death without life. And immortal life…will eliminate death, will it not? So are not your interests threatened?"

"Hm." Nekron's strengthless voice nonetheless brought fear to Starfire's heart. This was, after all, the place where the Black Lanterns had originated… "You make a telling point. Without mortals… Very well. The matter is under consideration. I will summon my general. Krona!" And in a flash of black light, the fallen Guardian appeared. "You called, my Master?'

"I did indeed. You may be needed to assist the Earthlings in battling a foe of great power."

"WHAT! Master, you, you cannot be serious! It wasn't all that long ago that the Earthlings repelled your offer of life-in-death. How can you possibly—"

"As you said, I am Master. You are servant. Will you obey my commands, or do I need to select another general?"

Krona took a deep, unnecessary breath, there in the airless nothingness of Nekron's dimension. He well knew what it would be like to be demoted. "I, I obey, my Master. Tell me what I must do."

"That has not yet been decided." Nekron turned back to Starfire, now shivering as her stored-up solar energy was rapidly drained. She hoped this wouldn't go on much longer. "Koriand'r of Tameran. As I said, you make a telling point. But…I require a sacrifice, in order to secure my assistance."

Starfire's skin tingled with fear. A sacrifice? "What…sort of sacrifice?"

"I am thinking of yourself."

Starfire had halfway prepared for this, which was good, seeing as how she could tell she didn't have long to last here. "I would hardly be much sacrifice, Great One. But…perhaps we could provide you with one much better."

"Oh? Who?"

A few seconds later. "Hm. It is true…that would be much more…enjoyable than your own life-force. But how will you arrange this?"

A few more seconds. "Ah. I see. And…of course, it will require my assistance. I see the value in your plan." Nekron seemed to think for a moment. Then, "Very well. You have my alliance. Krona!" The disgraced Qwardian jerked to attention. "You will place yourself and my forces at the command of the Earthians."

Krona was clearly unwilling. "Master, I-*"

"Do you question my commands?" In spite of the seeming strengthlessness in Nekron's voice, Starfire could hear the force in it. There would be no questioning these commands.

Krona visibly deflated. "No, Master. I…will obey."

"Excellent. Then you will remain my general." He turned to Starfire, who was turning pale. "My Black Lanterns will accompany you to Earth, and provide the way. But," and here the Master of Death raised a skeletal finger for emphasis, "my assistance is conditional. If you cannot provide this sacrifice—for any reason or reasons—then you will BE that sacrifice. Is that understood?"

"I…yes, Great Lord." Robin…I hope you will not be too disappointed if I cannot celebrate with you…

…

"Now, about this Azure Jewel you mentioned…tell us about that."

Renseia drew a deep breath. They'd just had perhaps the closest call any of them could think of. It was true, they could proceed without the Titans' help, but… "To be honest, not a great deal is known about it. We know it was created, in an ancient time, and charged in such a way that it has a very…negative…effect on evil beings. Supposedly, it can ward off and / or purify evil. Frankly, I doubt it can do all that; you know how rumors go. I'm sure it can do SOMEthing, but exactly what, well, we'd have to get it and see. Problem is, no one knows exactly where it is. Last anyone heard, some mortal had found it and hidden it away, presumably for his own use or just because he thought it was pretty."

"Well, that's a big help," muttered Raven. "So that's your plan? I'm beginning to understand how Vlad's been such an issue with you. I doubt you could kill a cockroach—"

"Enough, Raven. As for now, Renseia and Solstice—and Gevea, when she returns—are our allies. You needn't insult them." He turned to Renseia. Solstice was still a bit shell-shocked from Vlad's communication. "So what's the LAST KNOWN LOCATION for this jewel? Perhaps that'll help us find it."

…

The meeting broke up soon after. Beast Boy found himself outside of Raven's room. She'd left abruptly, and had barely touched her food. "Rae? 'S'me."

"Go away. I need to be alone."

"I brought waffles. Blueberry waffles. Loaded with maple syrup."

The door slid open, to reveal a sight Garfield Logan would never have expected to see. Raven stood in the door…but her face was all puffy, her eyes red. Not the normal—for her—red of her demonic heritage, but the red of someone who'd been… "Rae, have you been crying?"

She sniffled. "What if I have? I'm allowed, aren't I? I mean, every once in awhile?"

He held up the plate of food. "C'mon, Rae. We need to talk."

"About what?" But she moved back, allowing him entrance. She went over and sat on her bed. He followed her, still carrying the tray of food. Once they were seated, he handed it to her, and she dove in as though starving. She finished off the waffles, then placed the tray on the nightstand. Garfield reflected as to how he'd never get used to the strange idols in Raven's room. They didn't seem to be made of any kind of matter he was familiar with.

"Well, for starters, why are you crying? I mean, you seemed to have it together up there, and then…all of a sudden…"

She was silent for a long, long time, and he was beginning to think she wasn't going to answer. Then, "I…it's noth-"

He put an arm around her. "Rae. Anything that gets you this upset is NOT nothing. So back up and try again."

She got a tissue from the nightstand and blew her nose. Funny, he thought to himself, he'd never seen Raven blow her nose before. "Garfield…it's just that I worry. Starfire's out there trying to recruit Death himself. That alone would be bad enough…but if Vlad succeeds…" Abruptly she turned to him, there on the edge of the bed. "You'll die. I mean, you WILL DIE. That thought…disturbs me."

"Disturbs you? I would've thought you'd be glad to get rid of me. I mean, we're always argu-"

"DON'T EVEN JOKE LIKE THAT!" She calmed down some, raising her face to the ceiling, hands over her face. "I…I never told you this, but…I've long considered you my best friend. Sometimes, I've considered you my ONLY friend. I remember the time when Malchior used me like he did. You were there for me. And, and you saved me from that thing that Adonis became. I, I don't even like to think what might have happened had you not been there. And now here…you could die. And there wouldn't be a thing in the world I could do about it. Even if Vlad's plan, to go to Earth-Prime, doesn't succeed, I know you well enough to know you wouldn't hesitate to charge into battle to save Terra. Not that I could blame you." She paused, ruffling her Kleenex. "Maybe…maybe I'm a little envious of, of what you and she have."

"And our so-called 'allies' only plan sucks harder than a black hole."

He tightened his grip around her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "No, Rae. You're not envious. And it's not selfish to want your friends to…live. If that's the case, we're ALL selfish.

"I want YOU to live, too. And, yeah, I think of you as MY best friend. Don't take this the wrong way, but…anything I'd do for Terra, I'd do for you."

"You're just saying that. You don't really mean it. You CAN'T."

"You're the empath. Was I lying?"

"No." This said in a very small voice. Again, more ruffling of the Kleenex.

"So come on now. Yeah, these Elementals…I don't know if I totally trust them either. You know, in mythology, supernatural beings always seem to have their own agenda. So they could easily be hiding something. But then again, maybe not. In any case, what counts right now is working together, finding some way of defeating Vlad."

She didn't say anything for a while. Then, "I made a spectacle of myself up there."

"You were under a lot of stress. We all are. They'll understand. And if they don't," here he smiled his usual "pranking" smile, "I'll turn into a rhinoceros and' go all horny on 'em."

That actually elicited a laugh from her. Raven's laughs were few and far between, and he'd come to treasure each and every one. "So come on, Best Friend of Mine. Let's go out there and assure them you're alright, okay?"

…

Master Azrael had returned to his own treehouse. Gevea had left to return to Terra and the others; she'd sensed they were at Lilith's house, though she didn't know of the events that had transpired there.

There was a knock on the door. Opening it, Azrael was surprised to see his visitor. "Valkyrie? Come in, come in. Have a seat." The tall vampire woman entered. Azrael noticed her distraught countenance. Without saying anything, he began the preparations for making tea. Some herbal tea might be in order. "I didn't know you were back in this realm."

"I hadn't intended to return but…I felt like I had to check in on Lilith. Turns out I had some reason to do so. Her merman friend has gone and gotten himself in lots of trouble. And I can tell Lilith is…well, maybe it's the pheromones. But she's…sort of into him, if you get my meaning." Pause. "I just hope HE hasn't gotten into HER, if you get my meaning. Though I don't think he has. Yet."

"Your daughter is extremely mature for her age. I doubt she would be…persuaded…quite so easily." He brought out some china tea cups that would have fetched a small fortune on Earth. Somehow, tea just tastes better when served in expensive china.

Valkyrie sighed, a human gesture she'd picked up. "I worry about her. With no maternal influence…and Antellis isn't likely to warm up to any other female. Not with what happened between us."

"Is there no chance you two could get back together?"

Valkyrie shook her head, her purple hair rippling down her back. "I don't see how. You know what happened. It was all my fault. I should never have trusted that bastard—but I did. I thought he loved me. Turns out he was only using me. Of course." She sipped her tea. It was nice and hot, just like she liked it. "I suppose I'll never learn."

"Or perhaps you will. What about if you simply apologized to him? Do you not think he'd accept that?"

"I don't know. I...saw the look in his eyes, the old look he had when we were... but he was…cordial. Polite, even. But…nothing more.

Master Azrael sat down on his own seat. "It sounds," he began, "like the only thing standing in the way of reconciliation is you."

Another sigh. "It is. My own stupid pride. That plus the fact that I feel he could do so much better."

Azrael reached over and touched her wrist. "You know he could not."

She got up and began pacing. "I KNOW it, I just can't BELIEVE it. In here." And she pointed to her heart.

Azrael hesitated. This was a very delicate matter, and he did not wish to say the wrong thing, and the wrong thing could so easily be said. But he opened his mouth to tell her that time was passing, and that there would never be a better time to make things right than now. He started to remind her of his own experience; sometimes you DON'T have tomorrow. But just then, there was a chime from the crystal ball, indicating an incoming call. Azrael answered, and was not surprised to see Gevea's countenance displayed upon the ball. "Gevea? To what do I owe the honor?"

"Just thought I should keep you in the loop. Lilith has gone and secured some allies. Some apparently powerful allies.

"Are you familiar with Nemesis, Lord of the Ninth Realm?"

"I am indeed. And you are right; he is an extremely powerful ally, or can be, when it suits his purposes. But I suspect in the case of Lilith, he will honor his commitment to the fullest. You know of his relationship with her, do you not?"

"I'm…aware of it.

"Then perhaps you know there is nothing he would not do for her, his own god-daughter".

…

Flashback: Fifteen years ago:

Antellis and Valkyrie met in the Great Hall of Nemesis, in the city of Dys, in the Ninth Realm. "I sense him coming, my love. You'd best go."

"Yes," said Antellis. He still couldn't believe he'd actually agreed to come here, where nightmares were born…and sometimes made into reality. He left via an oaken door to the left.

Nemesis strode into the vast room as befitted the Lord of the Realm. He wore a simple tunic and pants combination of thick red fabric, replete with black leather boots and belt, with a black cape around his shoulders. He carried with him his golden, tripled-pointed scepter, an indication of his rank. But his real rank shone forth from his eyes, was evident in his demeanor. All the lesser demons present prostrated themselves and covered their eyes. The Lord of the Ninth Realm approached the vampire woman. "Valkyrie," he said, with a nod of his head.

She bowed her head in return, hands crossed in front of her, a gesture of respect. "My Lord."

Nemesis turned his attention to the small bassinet to his right. Within was a small baby, whose eyes were busily taking in her surroundings. Valkyrie picked up the infant, and held her tenderly. "This is Lilith."

"Named for my sister. You honor her." He held out his arms, and, after a brief moment of hesitation, Valkyrie placed the cooing infant into the Demon Lord's hands.

Nemesis looked down at the baby. Completely unafraid, the child looked back at the red-eyed stranger holding her. She reached up towards his face. "So you are Lilith," he murmured, almost too low for even Valkyrie's superlative hearing to hear.

Valkyrie cleared her throat. "I, I have a favor to ask of you, Great One."

Nemesis raised an eyebrow, his attention diverted away from the child. "And that favor is?"

"I…we…would like you to be Lilith's godfather. Er, or demonfather, whichever term befits. Her protector and provider, should anything…" She trailed off. Just because one is immortal does not mean that they are assured of never dying.

And there are fates worse than mere death.

Nemesis looked back down at the child in his arms. "I, too, once had a daughter. She was taken from me by treachery." He paused for little more than a second. Then, "I grant your request, Valkyrie, of the Northwest Territory, and that of your wisely-absent husband. I will be Lilith's godfather. I will see that she wants for nothing.

"And, should she need it, I will be her protector."

…

The present day: Azrael and Valkyrie were still discussing matters when Azrael's crystal ball chimed, and the image of Solstice appeared. "Master Azrael."

"Solstice." The wizard inclined his head. "I take it you have news?"

"Yes, but not of any particularly good kind. I imagine you already know about Ray and his decision to join the Order of Poseidon. And Gevea contacted us. Lilith has…well, perhaps 'secured' is too strong a term, but she has asked the assistance of the Demon Lord Nemesis."

"I am aware of this. I see little good coming out of this."

"As do I. However, we just received a most disturbing communique from Vlad." She went on to detail Vlad's virtual monologue. "It's driven a serious rift between us and the Titans, as I suppose you see."

"Indeed."

"But also, one of their number, Starfire, has gone seeking the assistance of Nekron."

"Nekron!?"

"You heard right. The rationale is, since Vlad intends to eliminate mortal life, Nekron's interests, which are based on the death of mortals, would be seriously impacted. To say the least."

Master Azrael scratched his chin. "I can see Nekron as…responding positively to such a sales pitch. But I would never trust him."

"Nor I." She shifted slightly, in her seat. "We were telling the Titans about the Jewel of Azure, and how it might help us. But, of course, none of us know where to find it. I don't suppose you'd have any insight as to where it might be?"

Azrael shook his head. "The jewel was constructed to obscure any means of magical location. The last I had heard, a mortal had found it and taken it into his possession."

"You wouldn't happen to know which mortal, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I would. That mortal was King Richard the Third, monarch of Markovia, and the father of the man to whom Terra was so unwisely entrusted."

"Richard? King Richard the IV?" Azrael could see Solstice thinking, and thinking hard. "This…complicates matters. Our…communication…with Vlad indicated danger to Markovia. Although he tried to make it seem as though there was another party involved, it isn't difficult to discern from where this danger truly lies."

"Indeed," said Master Azrael, his countenance darkening. "I have not forgotten the great wrong Vlad did to me, all those years ago. Perhaps now a reckoning can be achieved."

…

Terra found Sepia sitting up against the wall of the treehouse, sniffling. "Sepia? What's wrong?"

"I-it's n-nothing."

Terra sat down by the little wizard. "It's making you cry. It's not nothing. Now come on. Spill. Or do I haveta tickle it outta ya?"

Sepia laughed at that. "W-well…it's just…Miss Lilith got that Demon Lord to, to, throw in with us. I g-guess I'm feelin' kinda useless."

Terra hugged the little girl. "Oh, Sepia! You're not useless! Just you being here with us…why, if it hadn't been for you, when Gevea was possessed by that shadow demon, she might 'a killed us all! But she didn't, because you were there to stop her."

"But that was just an accident. I just h-happened to be there."

"And you JUST SO HAPPENED to not only decide to get involved, but you JUST SO HAPPENED to know the exact spell needed to stop her without hurting her? That's a lotta 'just so happens,' Sepia. Lots of people back on Earth believe there ARE no accidents, that everything happens for a reason. I'm startin' to believe that myself."

Still the little wizard girl remained unconvinced. "An', without my book, I can't hardly do nuthin,'" she grumped.

"Do nothing?!" Terra half-exclaimed. "Sepia, you don't remember this, I know, but…you know shadow demons can only work with what they've got, right?" Sepia nodded, unsure where this was heading. "Well, when you were under the influence of the shadow demon, and' came after us, you shot a bolt at Gevea that darn near knocked her on her keester. I'm not kidding. It must've driven her back fifteen, maybe twenty yards. And she was READY for it, mind you!"

Sepia looked stunned, looking at her hands, first one, then the other. "I did all that? A-and to GEVEA?"

"Well, the demon was puppeting you, but yeah. That was YOUR power at work. YOU did that. AND YOU DID IT WITHOUT YOUR BOOK." She hugged the little wizard tighter. "You know what? You know what I think? I think maybe you just don't believe in yourself enough. 'Cos trust me, an antiaircraft battery couldn't have shoved Gevea back that far, not with her ready for it, an' all."

"I did all that?"

"Yep. AND you dodged her bolts like a boss. In fact, the only way we got the demon out of you was with Gevea and me teaming up on ya. Otherwise, it would 'a been a real throwdown."

For a time they were silent. Then, Sepia said, "I told you Master Azrael found me in a dumpster, right?"

"Yeah, and I can only imagine what that must 'a done to you, once you were old enough to understand."

Sepia looked down at her hands. Had these hands actually cast a bolt of energy that had knocked an Elemental back? "I was wrapped in some kinda blanket. Master Azrael said he'd never seen anything like it."

Now she looked up at Terra. "But there was something else in the blanket with me. Something only Master Azrael and I know about." Strange, thought Terra, her stuttering seems to have disappeared.

"What was it?" A pacifier, maybe? Some sort of letter?

C-come on, I'll show you." And she led the older blond to her room. She went over to a huge chest, opened it, and fished around in it, down towards the very bottom. "Now, d-don't freak, 'kay?" She brought out a gleaming implement and handed it to Terra.

Terra stared. It was a knife, a large folding lockblade of some sort, with brass bolsters and an expertly carved wooden grip. She opened it up and looked for the brand name. There wasn't one. "Huh. So this was wrapped up with you?"

"Yeah. Master Azrael thinks it might be a clue to, to my parents."

"But there's no brand name. No markings. No way to tell where it came from."

But Sepia was shaking her head. "It isn't j-just an ordinary knife, Miss Terra. Here. Come outside, and, and I'll show you."

She took Terra out back, where the trees formed a natural cover. There was a tree stump there, obviously used for cutting firewood. Terra wondered if little Sepia had been tasked with that job. Somehow she couldn't see Master Azrael swinging an axe. Maybe he used magic? Or taught Sepia how to use magic to cut firewood? The latter seemed most likely. "Watch," said Sepia, and placed a large chunk of wood on the stump, making sure it balanced. Then she drew back, opened the knife, and, with one swift movement, brought the gleaming blade straight down on the top of the wood chunk.

The blade cleaved through the wood as though it were tissue paper, only stopping when Sepia stopped it from going down into the stump. The two halves of the chunk of wood fell to either side. It hadn't even seemed to take much effort on the wizard girl's part.

Terra realized that her mouth was open. Although she'd never actually chopped wood, she knew it wasn't as easy as that. Yet the knife blade had cut through the wood as easily as a high-powered laser. Maybe more so. "Sepia," she whispered, "that's gotta be a magic knife."

"Yeah. That's what Master Azrael says. But he, he can't trace the enchantment. It, it's a kind he's never encountered before."

"But…that means your parents must have been magic users, or knew magic users. Maybe that's why Master Azrael can't find them. Sepia!" She grasped the little wizard by the arms. "I think they DID put you in that dumpster to protect you! It's the only rational explanation! And, and they gave you an, an artifact to let you know they were magic users! Which means…they could still be…alive…somewhere! We just have to find them!"

"D-do you really think so?"

…

The Citadel of Poseidon: Ray had just rounded a corner, when he was caught and shoved up against the wall. "Well, if it isn't Mr. Troublemaker himself," said Sharkster. His crafty expression turned into a snarl. "Thanks to you, I got twelve demerits." His cronies around him murmured agreement.

The old Ray would have been terrified. Here he was, facing a hostile gang. The new Ray, however, had had a gutful of Sharkster taunts. He shoved Sharkster back. "Guess you don't have the guts to go it alone, huh? Gotta make it a group effort. Well, I guess if I were you, I'd be afraid to come at me all by myself, too."

Sharkster face turned as red as a beet. "You guys," he indicated his gang, "stay back. He's MINE!"

"Bring it, Sharkbait!"

When the fight was over, Ray had technically lost, having taken more hits than he'd given. But Sharkster had suffered two cracked ribs, a broken finger, and had lost three teeth, right in the front of his mouth.

And he was forever after nicknamed "Sharkbait."

…

Deep Space: Starfire had zoomed out of the portal to Nekron's dimension as soon as she could. That peculiar level of existence sapped her internal reserves of energy far faster than was normal. It was a coldness beyond mere temperature.

Behind her emerged a horde of dead and seemingly-decaying creatures, each and every one of them with a blackly-glowing ring somewhere upon one of its appendages. In a few cases, she noted, there were beings who were complete orbs, with no appendages. In their case, the rings had been fitted around their bodies.

Krona flew in close to her. Grudgingly, he nodded, and indicated the seemingly endless ranks behind her. "We will follow you to Earth, and establish ourselves upon your moon, awaiting instructions. I am assigning one of my most valued lieutenants to be your liaison." Pause. "I think you will see the rationale for that choice." He then flew off ahead, his own power opening a wormhole gateway back to Earth.

A decayed form flew up to Starfire. "Greetings, Princess Koriand'r. Or would you rather I call you Starfire?" The creature seemed oddly familiar in some strange way…

"As we are under battle conditions, perhaps 'Starfire' would be more appropriate. May I ask who you are? Krona seemed to think it important that he chose you among," and here she glanced at the literal cosmic cloud of dead zombified creatures behind, "all the others."

The living corpse beside her smiled. "Of course. I am Abin Sur. It was I who gifted your Green Lantern with his power ring."

Starfire stared. "And now you work for, for Lord Nekron?"

Abin Sur shrugged. "In life, I served Life. Now, in death, I serve Death. That should come as no great surprise, Princess. One serves those over them. It is the natural way."

"But must not one also serve one's friends? How can you do that, if you serve death?"

"Many of my friends are dead. And, Starfire of Tameran," he turned an unnervingly penetrating gaze upon her, "much of your attitude is based upon your perception, which is, as yet, incomplete. As you will discover in time, there is not a great deal of difference between life and death." And so saying, Abin Sur flew off to join the host of Black Lanterns.

The Mythic Forest: Gevea received a 'ball cast from Solstice. "Gevea, I'm afraid I have some bad news." And she relayed Vlad's message to the stunned Elemental. "So it looks like, one way or another, Markovia will shortly be under attack."

Terra was stunned. On the one hand, she welcomed her father having to deal with demon hordes…but she also had a half-brother, Brion Markov, with whom she was close. She had no doubt but that he would rise to the defense of their homeland….

….and fall.

"So when do we leave?" she asked.

To be continued…

Hey guys I know I just updated story A few weeks ago. Hope you guys like the story if you have any request you can just PM me. See you guys real soon