trigons_child | Room 509 to Azarath and back again, early Monday evening

Raven had made arrangements with Dinah to meet her after class in her room. Afraid of losing her nerve, she didn't want to waste any time talking more about where they were going. It was a simple enough plan anyway: sneak back into Azarath, find the information they were looking for, and leave as quickly and quietly as they came.

As soon as they were ready, she teleported them outside the Temple Azarath in the interdimensional realm that existed between the planes of known reality. She felt a pang as she looked around. It had been months since she had been here, and she missed the beauty of this place. The skies overhead were a dark blue-green, speckled with stars and planets that hung impossibly above. The streets were paved in solid marble, and the buildings were accented with columns of pure gold. Magical flames provided illumination, but also shadows in which Raven pulled Dinah so that the dark-cloaked figures moving about would not see them.

blondecanary	"Whoa," Dinah said, temporarily speechless. She gulped and stared around, at the arches, the staircases, the planets.... "Eat your heart out, Taj Mahal."
trigons_child	"It is a beautiful place," Raven said sadly. "But we cannot be seen, or they will make us leave." Well, in Azarath, "make someone leave" would be "strongly advise."
blondecanary	"Right," Dinah said, lowering her voice, and sticking close Raven. Amazingly gorgeous as this place was, she had to remind herself that the other girl had left for a reason. "Lead the way. I'm right behind you."
trigons_child	"This way," Raven said, slipping around behind the temple. "The library lies beyond the temple. If all is as I remember, it should be empty at this time of day." And indeed, the building Raven led them to was quiet and still, and filled with thousands of leatherbound books. Raven had to pause to concentrate on what she wanted to know, and the location of the books she sought glowed faintly. "There," she said, pointing. "Those books will contain knowledge of the people who claim to seek to stop my father."
blondecanary	Dinah hurried over, looking around at all the books, still teetering on the edge of disbelief at Azarath. "Will we be setting off any alarms if we touch it or anything?" she asked in a hushed whisper. The place just seemed to inspire that.
trigons_child	"No, we do not need to fear that," Raven said. "We have no ill intent, so the books will not be disturbed by our presence." She flipped through the pages of one book until she saw a drawing she recognized. "That is Alligorr," she said, drawing a finger down the text beside the picture. "This seems to concur with what he told me. He and his companions have tried to stop my father in the past, but they have never been successful."
blondecanary	Dinah leaned over, checking the book too. "Does it say why? Or how long they've been trying?"
trigons_child	"Their own world was destroyed by Trigon long ago," Raven said, skimming the text. "They vowed to stop him, but have failed each time. Either my father has influenced someone to disrupt the ritual, or it has failed for lack of power. That is why they want me, because of my bond to my father. They think that will allow them to focus their power and finally stop him."
blondecanary	"So far, so good," Dinah had to agree. "Does it say anything about the ritual? What they'd want you to do?" Because people like that might think it was for the Good of Everyone if one daughter of Trigon got sacrificed, for instance.
trigons_child	"It does not say here," Raven said, "but there is no indication of any malevolence on their part in their previous activities."
mrs_theterrible	And that was when a pretty woman with dark and wavy hair slipped quietly into the room. "It was a mistake for you to come here, Raven," she said. "You knew our rules when you left. To forsake Azarath means to never return."
blondecanary	Dinah spun around, immediately falling into a 'ready' stance, then whispered to Raven, "Who is she?"
trigons_child	Raven barely heard Dinah as she stared at the woman. "But I need the help of Azarath's knowledge," she said, her heart racing. "Our homeworld needs help. Can you turn your back on the world of your birth? Can you permit untold millions to be crushed in the merciless grip of Trigon the Terrible? Can you let your own daughter die? Can you, Mother?"
mrs_theterrible	"I know my bond, Raven," Arella said quietly, though she had the barest of flinches at Raven's words. "There is a will to all. If Trigon destroys the Earth, that, too, is willed."
blondecanary	"What now?" Dinah said, suddenly wanting to stomp her feet, make some noise, at the passiveness of the woman. Raven's mom. Who was just standing there, talking as if they were almost-strangers. "Yeah, willed because no one did anything more than think about it, maybe."
mrs_theterrible	"You do not belong here, either," Arella said, looking Dinah over. "I am Arella, and Raven is my daughter, and I would bid you welcome if you were to forsake the ways of violence and join us here, but I suspect that is not what you seek."
trigons_child	"I have learned that you sometimes must fight for what you believe in, Mother," Raven said. She was fighting against the tears welling in her eyes. "I will not allow my father to claim the Earth. I will do whatever I can to stop him."
blondecanary	"I'll forsake violence the day everyone else on Earth does," Dinah said sincerely. "Until then, forget it. Inaction can be just as bad for getting people hurt." She put an arm around Raven, hugging her close. "And if it means giving up feeling good things, never ever. How can you not care about what he's going to do to your daughter?"
mrs_theterrible	"My daughter has chosen her own path," Arella said, a touch of sadness in her voice. "We of Azarath believe to fight is to degrade oneself. Raven chose to leave here and forsake Azar's teachings."
trigons_child	"How could I stay, Mother?" Raven cried. "You know what I saw! I dreamed of Azarath's destruction when Trigon came for me. How could I stay here and allow that to happen? How could I stay and let you die?" Her voice cracked from emotion and she turned away, pressing her face against Dinah's shoulder.
mrs_theterrible	"If that is to be my fate, I accept it," Arella said. But she wasn't unmoved by her daughter's tears, and she frowned slightly. "You cry now -- you've learned to experience emotions."
blondecanary	"You're wrong about fighting. If it's for the right reasons, there's no 'degrading'," Dinah said, stroking Raven's hair. "And yeah, she has learned. It wasn't easy, but she did. And she hasn't lost herself, either." Gotten off-track a couple times (thanks Chuck, evil Professor Max) but Dinah admired the way Raven had pulled herself past those times. "She wants to help because she loves you."
mrs_theterrible	Arella looked away. "I love my daughter," she admitted, "how else would I know she was here? I felt her presence. But you should not have come. We cannot help you or the Earth."
trigons_child	Raven lifted her head, one word giving her hope. "Mother, please," she said, holding out her hand. "I need you."
mrs_theterrible	"I am so sorry, Raven," Arella said. She moved forward but avoided Raven's outstretched hand and instead touched her fingers to her daughter's forehead. Raven barely had time for a surprised look before she vanished in a puff of black smoke. Arella looked at Dinah. "I must send you back as well," she said.
blondecanary	Dinah glared at her, fists clenched. "Fine. But we're going to stop Trigon, whether you help or not." She studied Arella and said, "She's happy in Fandom. Mostly. And if you won't keep her safe, then the rest of her friends will. You don't deserve her."
mrs_theterrible	"I kept my daughter safe for most of her life," Arella said stiffly, just a tiny hint of a glare in her eyes at Dinah's words. "But I know first hand the power of Trigon. Once he turns his eyes somewhere, there is no stopping him. I do not want to see Raven harmed, but if you have helped teach her how to feel, you have made her more vulnerable than you can possibly imagine."
blondecanary	"Maybe. But I think it would've happened eventually. No matter what." Dinah's voice grew quieter. "People aren't supposed to live like this. It's beautiful, it's peaceful, but... this isn't living." She shook her head. "And I won't believe Trigon can't be stopped until after we try. It might be beyond you, or us, but someone, somewhere, has got to stop him."
mrs_theterrible	"Then I wish you luck," Arella said, raising her hand and stepping toward Dinah. "But you will find no help in Azarath. Even should Trigon appear here, they will do nothing to stop him." The look on her face hinted that she didn't entirely agree with that, but she didn't give any voice to that thought.
blondecanary	"But--" And then Dinah was gone, and stifling the urge to curse, and wondering, if, maybe...? But too late to find out now.
trigons_child	Dinah reappeared beside Raven exactly where they had left Fandom. Raven was silent, staring down at the ground for a long moment. "That is the first time she ever said she loved me," she said quietly.
blondecanary	Dinah's heart broke a little for Raven, and she swallowed hard, thinking of her own mom. She reached out to give Raven a hug, and said what she'd just realized. "You know... she could've stopped us. Before we got to the library."
trigons_child	"Perhaps," Raven said, hugging Dinah back. If anyone else had found them there, they surely would have been bounced back to Fandom immediately. Her mother had stayed to talk to them. She wiped a hand across her eyes. "I think I can trust Alligorr," she said. "He truly wishes to stop my father."
blondecanary	"Okay. We can at least trust his intentions." Dinah took a breath. "We'll have everyone watching for the intelligence of his group's plans." Because you could mean well and still screw it up. "And then you can go back and tell your mom there's nothing to be scared of any more."
trigons_child	Raven nodded. "His intentions are good, and if something goes wrong, I will have people with me." She gave Dinah a sad but grateful look. "My friends." Friends Azarath never wanted her to have.