Alright, here is the next chapter! I will post only one warning. This is where things start to get dark. If you can't handle what is in this chapter, you may want to stop reading now. As always enjoy and Please PLEASE leave a review. They are what keep me working on these stories.

-Chapter 27-

Robin groaned as he shifted in his bed, unable to find a restful position. His talk with Batman last night had been enlightening and frustrating at the same time. Robin moaned as he sat up, giving up on sleep. He looked at his alarm clock as he turned the alarm off for the morning. '4am… Damn… Guess it's going to be a coffee and energy drink day…' He slid out of bed and went to shower, starting his morning routine. His body flowed with his usual motions as his mind was lost in his thoughts. 'I can't believe Raven never told me she knew Batman… I had no idea…' Last night Batman had briefly told him and Cyborg of his history with her. He also spoke of the few agreements they had between them. The few agreements that Raven had now broken with her latest actions.

Once Robin was dressed and his hair mostly dried, he left his room heading to the kitchen to make coffee. The large double doors opened, and Robin was greeted with the sound of rapid typing at the computer in the common room. Robin paused in the doorway as he recognized Batman sitting at the computer. Curiosity distracted him from his original goal as he walked over to Batman, looking at the many computer screens the man had opened.

"Did you sleep at all?" Robin asked as he looked over the images and programs Batman was working on.

"No." Was Batman's short reply as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

"What are you doing?" Robin questioned as he recognized one of the files as a police report about the murders Raven and Slade had committed. Robin quickly scanned the other reports and suddenly realized what Batman was doing. "You're modifying the police reports…" Robin whispered in shock… "You've hacked into the police headquarters and you're changing the reports?! Why?! What the hell Bruce!?" Robin was beyond shocked at this. Never had he known Batman to do something so… Illegal…

Batman sighed as he paused in his typing. "The League cannot find out about this… Ever." He stated as he started typing again. "This is the first and last time I am going to clean up after her." Batman moved on from the police reports to the coroner's reports, modifying the findings and setting all the bodies in storage for release and cremation.

"Batman…" Robin started as he looked at his mentor in a different light. "What you're doing…"

"It has to be done." Batman said firmly as he paused and turned to look at Robin. "Raven was my responsibility. A responsibility that I passed onto you. If the people of the world ever found out about all of this, the Justice League would fall, I would fall, and the Titans would fall. A hero going rouge happens sometimes but NEVER to this extent. It's always seen and stopped before it goes too far… This…" He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead with a hand. "This was foreseen… We knew… I knew from the start that she was a Devil's daughter… I just… I wanted to give her a chance because no one else was going too." He lowered his hand and looked to Robin with hard eyes behind his mask. "I'm glad I did. She's done great things as a Titan and even defeated her father thanks to the love she was able to experience with all of you. I don't regret helping her… I just regret…" He sighed and turned back around, typing once more. He had to get the reports finished before the main offices opened back up.

"You regret what?" Robin asked quietly.

"I regret telling her to leave…"

8888888888888888888 With Slade and Raven 888888888888888888888

The first light of dawn arched across the dark morning's sky as the two immortals began to awaken from their rest. Raven moaned softly as she shifted, still laying on top of Slade who groaned and stretched beneath her. Raven sat up and yawned, stretching her arms and wings. She glanced around them, remembering that they never made it home last night. A soft question of just which home she was thinking of came to mind but the feeling of Slade's hands sliding up her thighs going to her hips distracted her from the thought.

"Morning." Slade said with a smirk as he held onto her hips that were straddling his own. All he had to do was shift her down just a little to have her right where he wanted her…

Raven smiled back as she stroked a hand over his chest enjoying the warmth that radiated off his skin. "Morning." She bit her lip as his lustful thoughts played across her mind. "Don't…" She whispered with a slight hesitation. "We don't have the time."

"Why not?" Slade asked, wondering what matter could be more pressing than his need to be one with her again.

"We never made it home last night. I'm sure my friends are pissed."

Slade sighed heavily and reluctantly let her go. "Yeah… Wintergreen will be as well." He groaned when she left his lap and stood up. They shared a connected thought, both questioning just where home was for them now, but they said nothing on the matter. Such questions would have to wait. Slade sat up, rolling his shoulders and flexing his large wings. He eyed them strangely having never expected to grow a pair of wings, let alone a set that was so large. "How come I didn't get feathers?" He asked glancing to her wings. 'Mine are so much larger than hers.'

"You are so much larger than me." Raven replied to his thought with a smirk as she glanced over to him as he stood up. She noted the thick smear of blood that was dried on his collarbone going down his chest from her bite. "It would only make sense that your wings would be larger than mine." "As for the feathers," Raven continued aloud. "Who knows. You've changed into something close to what I am." She stood close to him, taking a hand to one of his wings, tracing the thick membrane with her fingers softly. Slade shuddered from the unknown sensation. "It would seem you took more after my Demon heritage than I did."

"I can live with that…" Slade said as he shivered, his wing flinching from her touch. "Stop that… It feels weird…" He admitted as he eyed his wing. "How hard is it to fly with wings?"

Raven shrugged and turned from him, walking over to Malchior's corpse. "Well, that depends on if you've got the instinct for it. Our wings are built differently so our flying style will be a little different. My wings are smaller and formed like a bird's. Yours are like a Dragon's." She stated as she looked over the shattered wing before her. "I will have a greater maneuverability while you have greater power with each stroke." She leaned over the body gaging the worth of the scales and other parts. Dragon was a very hard ingredient to come by for spell work and had many other uses. She had no intent to let any part of the beast go to waste.

"So…" Slade started as he watched her work, calling up her power, sinking the corpse into the darkness that formed around it. "Whose wings are better?" He teased with a smile.

"Mine." Raven replied quickly without turning to face him.

"Why do you say that?" He questioned with a light laugh, crossing his arms over his chest.

The amusement was clear in Raven's voice when she replied to him. "Because my wings did not come with a tail."

"What?" Slade questioned in confusion. "I don't have a ta-" The word was caught in his throat as something brushed against his leg. "Oh, son of a bitch…" He mumbled as he watched said attachment flick behind him. His tail was long and thin, looking more like the tail from a lion, just without fur. Raven chuckled lightly as Slade cursed his new attachment as he grabbed it. "How do I get rid of this damn thing?!" He questioned glaring at it.

Raven smirked and turned to face him, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know." She teased. "I guess you will just have to deal with it."

Slade growled deeply at her, feeling her amusement through their bond. "Don't lie to me. Tell me how to get rid of it!"

Raven rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "You can't get rid of it. It's a part of you. Most Devils have a tail of some sort. My father had antlers, hooves and tail. Though he kept his tail hidden most of the time. I'm actually surprised I didn't get a set of horns." She said tapping her forehead with a finger.

"Physically you took after your mother." Slade commented as he continued to glare at his tail. "Fine, if I can't get rid of it, tell me how to hide it. Like how you hide your wings."

Raven pretended to be deep in thought for a moment. "Hmm… No."

Slade looked at her in shock. "No?! Why not?" He questioned as he started walking over to her. His wings were slightly extended while his tail flicked back and forth behind him.

"Because it's a part of you. You need to get used to it before you hide it."

"I don't want to get used to it… I want to cut it off." Slade said with a glare and clenched fists. "I don't want a tail."

Raven ignored his anger and looked down at his tail. "Too bad. You've got one now."

Slade's reply was cut off as the sound of the approaching bat-jet reached their ears. Both had heard the sound in the past and recognized it right away.

"Crap…" Raven muttered as her wings shifted and wrapped around her body, hiding her naked form. "He found out about all this faster than I had hoped…"

"Robin must have told him." Slade said as he glared at the jet that came into view. His large wings mimicked hers, folding around his body; better than how hers had however. Slade could feel the shift in Raven's emotions. She was nervous and worried… The feeling of her twisting emotions conflicted with his and he forced himself to keep his hands clenched at his side beneath his wings. Batman had once been his equal when he was still human. 'He is no longer a threat to me…' He told himself as he took a deep breath as the jet landed before them. 'Don't kill him… Don't kill him…' He repeated to himself as he watched said man jump out of his jet and slowly approach them.

Raven stepped forward and stood before Slade. She could hear Slade's thoughts and knew he was restraining himself. "Hello Batman." She said tipping her head to him.

"Hello Raven." He replied emotionlessly as he stopped about ten feet away from her. "We need to talk."

Raven flinched slightly, feeling the emotions he was not showing. "How much do you know?"

Batman held in a sigh as he spoke, his shoulders sinking ever so slightly. "I know you've taken Deathstroke as mate." He said glancing at Slade before looking back to her. "I know you both have killed over twenty people each. I know what you have told Robin about the Demon Lords and what I already knew from our talks in the past." Batman frowned and sighed. "Raven… I can't believe things have turned out like this…" He said stepping closer to her. He paused in his advance when Slade growled behind her. "You agreed with me that you were going to run… That you wouldn't risk unleashing Hell onto this world… What made you change your mind?" He looked to Slade with a glare. "Was it him? Is he why you've decided to stay?"

Slade growled and made a move to advance, but Raven glanced behind her at him, stilling his advance with a hard look. "No…" She said as she looked back at Batman, standing tall before him with her shoulders back. "I decided to stay… Because I wanted to be selfish… For one moment in my life I wanted to make a choice that was just for me. A choice that would be best for me… I told you I would run… Because it was what you wanted to hear and because that would be best for this world… Best for my friends… But it was not the best choice for me… I'd be hunted down in the end, I could never escape from the Demon Lords like that…" She glanced back to Slade, turning her body to face him slightly. "Mating him gave me a fighting chance and I refuse to bow down to those who have abused me."

Slade stepped closer to Raven, opening his right wing to lay his hand on her wing that was over her shoulder. Raven turned back to Batman with Slade standing at her side. "I'm tired of sacrificing myself for everyone else. I'm done running, it's time I stood my ground and fought my enemies."

Batman grew more serious hearing her words. "And just who are your enemies, Raven?" He questioned with a glare. "Were those people you killed your enemies?"

"No…" She replied not looking away from his face.

"Then why did you kill them?" Batman asked needing to just why she had strayed so far from the path of a hero she had walked so well for so long.

"…Because I wanted too." She replied without remorse.

Batman's eyes widened slightly before he could contain his reaction. "That's it? That is why you killed all those people? Because you wanted too!?"

Slade spoke before Raven could reply. "We did it at first to calm my bloodlust." Slade explained. "It was either I kill a few or whole city would have burned."

"I get that." Batman said addressing Slade. "I'm not questioning why you killed them. I know most of your history after all. Plus, Robin told me you were the reason behind the murders. I'm questioning why Raven also killed innocent humans." He said looking back to the girl. "Have you truly fallen so far so quickly?"

Raven looked away from him as his emotions crashed over her. Worry, sorrow, guilt, anger, frustration and most of all… Fear. She could feel how terribly afraid of her he was, even if he did not show it. To know that the one person who had trusted her when no one else had was standing before her, terrified of what she had become… It hurt… It hurt badly. She knew when she chose to mate Slade that she was betraying her friends… But it was a choice she had to make… Was it not? Her thoughts drifted back to the fight club they had crashed… Her first kill… An innocent girl who had done no wrong… "I fear… We are bringing out the worst in each other…"

Slade frowned as he felt her pain and guilt fill her heart. He gave her wing a reassuring squeeze as his own thoughts agreed with her words.

Batman sighed heavily and rubbed his face with a hand, a very un-Batman like action. "Raven… I've done what I can to keep this from making it back to Justice League." He said looking worried. "But, if they find out you've mated Deathstroke AND killed innocent people, they will come to kill you."

"Let them try." Said Slade with a growl. "I'll end them all first."

Batman looked at Slade with hard eyes. "That is what I'm afraid of… The League members are mortal. None of them would stand a chance against you two if you meant to kill them." He looked between the two, an almost plea in his voice. "This world cannot handle losing them."

"I have no intention of fighting the League…" Raven said softly looking to the ground. "My only concern is the Demon Lords we will have to be facing soon. So long as the League does not interfere, I will not engage with them."

Batman looked from her to Slade. "What about you?" He asked him.

Slade thought about his words carefully. "If I did not have her, yet had this power as I am now… I would most likely kill them all just for the fun of it." Slade glanced down at Raven who was still drowning in her inner turmoil. "However, I have her now." He said as he stepped closer to her, taking his wing and wrapping it around her, pulling her against him and hiding her from Batman at the same time. "I will protect her, no matter what and no matter against who. If the League tries to go after her, I'll kill them all." Slade held Raven close against him beneath his wings as she opened hers and embraced him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Leave us." Slade said to Batman with a glare. He had not liked how upset this confrontation with Batman had made Raven.

Batman sighed knowing that the chat was over and understood the dangers of over staying his welcome. He turned to leave but paused and addressed Slade. "I really hope she made the right choice when she mated you. You had better keep her safe or everything that has happened and everything that is to come will be for nothing." He spoke firmly, turning his back to them and walking back to his jet.

Slade said nothing against his words, only held Raven tighter in his grasp as a part of him prayed for the same. He watched the jet take off and noted that Batman was not heading back towards the T-Tower. Slade sighed softly and opened his wings slightly to look down at Raven who had closed her eyes and laid her head against his abs. He smiled down to her, softly stroking down her head with a hand. "Raven… Let's go back to my place… We're both covered in dirt and blood…" He said as he noted the small smear of dirt on her cheek and the patch of dark blood that was dried on her neck where he bit her.

"Yeah… Alright…" She whispered, not bothering to open her eyes as her powers flowed around them, teleporting them back to their room at his place.

888888888888888888 Hell 8888888888888888888888

"I have them…" Spoke Nictis with a hallow laugh as he stood before Salazar with a grin on his thin lips.

"Perfect." Salazar replied as he drank from his bone goblet, enjoying the babies' blood within it. "Soon enough you and I will be able to walk the Earth." He said after a long drink. "Until then however… We must make sure she and all who follow her suffer…"

Nictis chucked and drank on his own goblet, turning his eyes to the show before them as he moved aside, and Salazar sat upon the spent and bloody bodies of damned. "Yes…" His thin lips were stretched even thinner as he watched a once innocent virgin skin a newborn baby alive and feed its flesh to its mother. The woman cried and begged for it all to stop but her pleas were ignored and in fact, made it even more enjoyable for the two who watched. "She will suffer… All will suffer…"

Salazar laughed and stood, walking to the crying mother who was bound before the virgin. "Tell your servant to deliver our gift." He grabbed the mother by her long blond hair and eyed her mouth, loving the blood of her baby on her lips as she pleaded with him to kill her. In one quick motion he forced her mouth around his thick cock, groaning as she flailed against her restraints uselessly. He groaned in pleasure as he fucked the woman's throat and she choked on his cock. "Oh, fresh meat is always so enjoyable…" He glanced over to the naked virgin who had stopped cutting on the baby that was now dead before her. "Eat it." He commanded the woman who trembled before him.

She was shaking so badly her small hands could not hold onto the blade any longer as she dropped to her knees, sobbing. "I… I can't…" She whispered, looking up at the Devil before her.

Salazar's grin started to leave his face as he looked down at her, not pausing his actions with the other woman. "Eat it," he repeated. "Eat it, and I'll let you go… I'll send you back home."

A small glimmer of hope shined in the girl's eyes. "You… You promise?" She choked out in disbelief…

"I promise. I give you my word as Devil. I'll send you back home." He spoke with a gentle smile on his lips. "A Devil cannot lie." He said, speaking truth. "Once a promise has been made, it must be kept." His smile widened as he watched the girl turn from him and look back at the corpse before her. Unsteadily she reached out for the baby and wrapped her hands around its arms. She pulled it closer to her and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, smelling only sweat and blood around her. A slight nausea almost overwhelmed her, but she swallowed it down and forced herself to lean over the body and take her first bite.

Salazar's wild grin returned to him as he watched the girl begin to tear at the baby's soft flesh with her teeth. He pulled out of mother's mouth, allowing the unconscious woman to drop to the ground. His focus now on the girl before him. "Yes… That's it… Good girl…" He whispered as he slowly walked towards her. He had every intent to send her home, just not quite yet… He was going to enjoy her for a bit longer first as she ate every part of the corpse in her bloody hands.

Nictis chuckled as he tore himself away from the show to send his servant his orders. 'Oh, this is going to be so much fun… I can't wait to play with them all…' He thought as twisted thoughts played through his head.

8888888888888888888 With the Titans 8888888888888888888

The city was quiet this afternoon but thankfully, the Tower was not. Robin was grateful for noise of Cyborg and Beast Boy playing his newest game on the TV. The sounds served to help distract him from the thoughts going through his head. Cyborg had been the only other Titan awake when Batman had left. They had both watched the encounter with Slade and Raven on the screen just in case it did not go so well. They both had been relieved when Batman left them, unharmed. Not long after that Beast Boy and Starfire showed up for breakfast. The two were still a little off from last night but by the end of the meal, they both were starting to act like themselves again.

Robin sighed as he folded the newspaper he had been glancing over, checking for any incidents that may be related to Raven or Slade, and stood up, finishing his third energy drink for the day. He thought about going to the gym but quickly changed his mind, making his way to Starfire's room. He knew the girl took the news about Raven very hard. It worried him greatly as he knew Starfire herself did not have a very clean past. She had confessed the things she had done to escape her imprisonment to him soon after she had joined the team. He knew the girl did not like secrets and had learned of far too many as of late…

"Starfire." Robin said as he knocked on her door. "Are you in there?"

After a few seconds her door opened, and the tall redhead looked at him with a small smile on her face. "Hello Robin! I am here."

Robin smiled back. "How are you feeling Star?"

Starfire's smile slipped from her lips. "I'm… I'm okay."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I…" She hesitated but then nodded as she stepped back from the door and allowed Robin inside. She was silent until the door was closed, and Robin was standing before her. "I've been thinking a lot…" She whispered.

"What about?" Robin asked as he softly laid his hand on her back and led her to her bed. They sat down, with Starfire closer to the headboard.

"My past…"

'I thought as much…' Robin thought himself. "You thinking about those men you killed?"

"…Yes…" She whispered with her head down, her red hair hiding her face as she twisted her hands together.

"You call talk to me Star." Robin said as he brushed her hair back behind her ear, so he could see her face. "Tell me what's on your mind."

She swallowed and took a deep breath, gathering her words. "I… I remember how… How easy it had been to kill them…" She started, rubbing her hands together, remembering the blood that had once been on them. "They… They were bad men… They did horrible things to me… They… They were evil… They experimented on me… They… tortured me…" Robin reached behind her and slid his arm over her shoulders, pulling her to his side reassuringly. "I had no choice but to kill them… I understand that… That does not bother me… It's how easy killing them had been for me that bothers me…" Her thoughts turned to Raven. "I understand killing… I really do!" She said turning to Robin with tears in her eyes. "But I… I don't understand killing innocent people…"

Robin sighed as he held her tighter, taking his other hand just beneath her eyes, wiping away her tears before they could fall. "I don't think this is supposed to be something we can understand… Not without crossing that line ourselves."

"But… I try so hard to understand her… She's… She's my sister, right?" She sniffled and chewed on her lower lip. "I don't… I don't want us to drift so far apart that I no longer know her…"

Robin nodded as he agreed with her. He too was so scared that she would drift away from them and become something they could never hope to understand… "I know Star… I fear that too…" He admitted. "I worry that we are going to lose her…"

"I don't want to lose her!" Starfire said, pulling out of his hold and standing before him with determination in her eyes and her hands clinched at her sides. "I love her! She's my sister! I can't lose her!" She held back a sob that stole away her will as she looked to the floor. "I can't… I can't lose another sister…" She knew her real sister was never going to change, she was never going to want to be with her… Raven had filled that painful hole in her heart… A hole she was terrified would be reopening soon.

"We're not going to lose her." Robin said, taking her clinched hands into his as he stood before her. Starfire looked up at his face seeing the firmness of determination on his lips. "She's our family. She won't forget that. Ever." He said, trying to believe his own words. "We don't have to understand her actions to still understand her. We must have faith in her, the same faith that she still places in us. Understand?"

Starfire nodded as she calmed down and looked down to his hands that still held hers, opening her fingers which he took into his. "I understand." Her thoughts drifted, and she suddenly realized that she had Robin… In her room… Alone… A small blush burned on her cheeks as she looked away from him.

Robin frowned and placed both of her hands into one of his, taking his now free hand to her chin and tilting her head back towards his. "Starfire, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…" She said almost breathlessly as he stepped closer to her to look into her eyes. Slowly, almost hesitantly she began to lean towards him and Robin found himself doing the same.

"Starfire…" He whispered as their lips were just inches apart, their heads tilted slightly as his hands slipped from hers, sliding to her waist.

"Robin… She whispered as her hands too traveled to his body, going to his shoulders and wrapping around his neck…

8888888888888888888 With Raven and Slade 88888888888888888

Slade sighed feeling relieved to be back in their room at his place. He was glad she had agreed to come to his place and not the Tower. Neither of them was in the best shape to deal with her friends right now. He looked down at the girl in his arms as he opened his wings completely. "Are you alright?" He asked already knowing the answer.

"No…" She whispered as she released him and stepped back away from him, holding herself. "He was terrified of me…" She whispered as she looked to the floor.

Slade sighed as his wings sank down behind him, betraying his emotions. He did not know what to say to that to make her feel better. Her pain was so open to him he almost felt like it was his own.

"I can't do this…" She whispered as her thoughts turned darker.

"Raven-" Slade started but Raven cut him off.

"Slade I can't!" She looked to him with fresh tears in her eyes. "I can't handle this… The way my friends looked at me… The way Robin… The way he was scared of me… And now Batman… Slade I can't…"

Slade stepped towards her, reaching out to her but she stepped back from him, staying just out of reach. He could feel her thoughts, he knew what she was going to say but he did not want her to say it. "Raven… Don't…"

"I'm sorry…" She whispered as her black tears fell and her lips trembled softly. "I can't be free… I can't be who I want to be… Not while they are alive…"

He shook his head, feeling her choking pain mixing with his own. He wanted her free, free and happy above all else. To feel her heart breaking because of the freedom he had laid before her hurt them both like a knife being driven deep into their chests. "Please don't do this to yourself… Don't walk back into that cage you made…"

"I have too…"

"Bullshit!" He shouted as anger rose to block out some of his pain. "If they're really your friends, if they're really your family they'll accept you no matter what! Don't live a lie just to stand at their side!"

"I can't stand at their side as I am now Slade…" Her wings laid limply behind her, the tips of her long feathers bending against the floor. "If I'm free… I'm like a God… And a God could never stand with mortals… It just doesn't work like that… I had forgotten that…"

Slade shook his head and turned from her, walking a few steps away. He could tell that nothing he could say would change her mind. "Fine… Whatever… When you're around them, be in your cage… But NOT around me… Understand?" He asked looking back to her. "If you want to lie to them, Fine. But you're not going to lie to me, not again."

Raven looked him in his eyes for a second but then silently turned away.

"Raven…" Slade growled as he turned to her completely and walked back to her, reaching out and grabbing her arm tightly but not tight enough to hurt her. "I know why you said it… Your words worked, I changed. But you will swear to me now that you will never say those words to me again as a lie. Swear it!"

Raven looked up to Slade with eyes filled with a sorrow he had not seen within them in a long time. "I swear… I will never speak of a false love again…"

Slade bit his cheek and closed his eyes, unable to find the words to chase away the shadow in her eyes. He sighed heavily and let her go, understanding that his touch would bring her no comfort in this moment. He was finally everything she had wanted him to be and yet she was now the furthest from what she wanted to be… They had fallen so deep into the shadows they both questioned if they were ever going to see the light again…

"Why don't you take the shower first…" Slade said as he turned from her and went to his mirror on the wall to get a better look at his new form. "I'll shower once you are done."

Raven just nodded to him and left, going to bathroom and closing the door behind her. After a moment Slade could hear the water running behind the door. He paused in his examining of his wings and closed his eyes, using his hearing to picture her behind the door. His ears were so sharp that he could now tell the difference between the water hitting her skin and water on her feathers. His thoughts started to drift to lustier places until he heard it, the soft sound of gentle hidden cries. He could feel her aching pain through their bond and it chased away any thoughts but the ones that haunted him the most.

'I'm finally strong…' He thought to himself, closing off his thoughts from their bond. 'Finally, what she needs me to be… So why… Why am I unable to be what she needs right now? What am I supposed to do?' He stared at himself in the mirror, no longer recognizing the man who stared back at him beneath all the dirt and dried blood on his body. He raised up a hand and laid it on the mirror. 'Who am I now?' He questioned to himself. 'I'm not Deathstroke… I'm not 'Slade'… I'm not a soldier… I'm not human… Am I… Am I lost?' He closed his eyes and shook his head, focusing his thoughts. 'NO.' He said looking back at himself with a steady gaze. 'I am Raven's mate. I am a monster. I am a Devil now.' He thought trying to focus and rebuild his own sense of self. 'But… Just what does it mean to be a Devil?' He questioned as he turned away from the mirror when he heard the water stop in the bathroom. He pushed away any other questions that tried to form as he stilled his thoughts and dropped his walls around his mind. Raven had enough to deal with right now, he was not going to add his own questions into the mix, not now.

After a few minutes Raven opened the door and left the bathroom. Her hair was still dripping wet, but Slade said nothing about it, only noting that she held the towel and her wings tightly against her body as she walked past him without a word, going to dresser to find something to wear for the day. Slade said nothing as he walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. The silence between them was painful but not stiflingly so as before. This silence was born out of a lack of words, not anger. Slade sighed and went to the shower, popping his neck as he stepped in and felt the cool water on his skin. He quickly found himself turning the cold water off completely. Finding that even then, the near boiling water that ran over his skin was barely hot enough to relax his muscles as he moved to rinse his wings off first.

His thoughts drifted as he contemplated what to say to her once he got out of the shower. He eyed the dark dirty water that ran down the drain as a random thought crossed his mind. 'I wonder… Does being a Devil now mean that I have access to magic now like how she does?' The thought of having to ability to tap into such a great and versatile power brought a smile to his lips as he pictured the things he could do with such power…

Slade smiled as his thoughts of magic served to lighten his mood slightly as he stepped out of the shower and dried off. Once he was sure he was no longer dripping wet he wrapped his towel around his waist and opened the door to the bedroom, walking in and looking to Raven. She stood before him naked of her towel and wings as she was starting to slide on a pair of black lace panties.

Slade's thoughts reached her, and Raven turned around to face him. The words they both had wanted to say died upon their lips as a single question came forth instead as they looked to each other. "What is that?" They questioned as one.

I hope you all enjoyed this! On a side note, I plan throughout the day to go back to older chapters and re-upload them to fix old errors that I have found. So if you have any issues try loading later or send me a message and I'll take a look into it. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

Please review! I'm begging! They really do make a big difference in how much time I try to squeeze out of my day (and night) to work on these stories. The last few reviews and private messages about this story over the last 2 weeks is the only reason why this chapter got finished today instead of me working on my Weapon and Her Magic story. That is not to say that I'm not still working on that one too, I am, it's just its chapters are double the size of these and take a lot more detail so that story takes longer. (Plus the plot bunny for that story is doing very horrible and naughty things in my head... so yeah...)