Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
Author's Comments: For those of you who don't already know, this is the sequel to Teen Titans: Love Hurts (ID: 3141366). So if anyone hasn't read that, please go check it out! I want to dedicate this chapter to Agent of the Divine One for making a music video for me, Phantom5656 for being such an amazing co-author, and to The Hidden Girl for her input to Enter the Ghost Zone (ID: 3432419).
Chapter 1 – Starfire's Story
Cyborg sat on the sofa in the Titan's living room. His massive shoulders were drooped, and his single human eye was sad. In his robotic hands, he held an old book. The pages were worn, and yellow, but this barely registered in Cyborg's partially robotic mind.
"Hey Cy!" Cyborg dropped the book, and jumped up off of the sofa with a start. He turned and scowled down at the speaker.
"Don't sneak up on me like that B.B." Cyborg lectured. The young man in front of him simply grinned, large lower canines adding to his unusual appearance.
"Dude, you should have seen the look on your face!" the young man's deep-green eyes sparkled mischievously. "It was priceless!" Cyborg scowled down at him. Then he pushed past the other Titan and exited the living room. The lone Titan stood blinking on the rug. He reached up and confusedly ran a grey-gloved hand through his dark-green hair. "Dude, what's with him?" He wondered aloud. Something on the rug caught his eye, and he bent down to see what it was. The object was an old book. Gingerly, the Titan picked up the book. Dust from between the pages caused him to sneeze. There was only one place in the tower where this book could have come from. The young man stuck the book under his arm, and marched out of the living room whistling. Upon reaching his destination, he rapped on the door. "Hey Raven." He called. "Open up!" The door slid open a crack revealing a hooded figure. Her dark eyes stared at him intently, the shadow of her hood making her emotion difficult to determine.
"What do you want Beast Boy?" she asked, her gravely voice relatively monotone.
"Cy dropped this book," the Titan replied. He handed her the book that he had found on the rug. Raven looked at it, and frowned. Beast Boy's olive-green skin paled. "It is your book right?" He asked, shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot.
"Yes," she replied. "Thank-you." As she said this, a ghost of a smile crossed her grey lips. This caused Beast Boy to grin even wider.
"Hey no problem," he replied. He glanced at the book. "So what's in this book anyway?" He asked. Raven glanced at him blankly. "Cy seemed really uptight, so I thought it might be because of whatever's in this book." Beast Boy explained.
"Oh," Raven glanced down at the book in her grey hands. "I don't know. Maybe you should go play, what is it, Large Monkey's with him." Beast Boy chuckled.
"That's 'Mega' Monkey's Raven," he corrected.
"Whatever," she replied with a shrug.
"That's a good idea though," he agreed. "I think I'll go do that."
"Such a sacrifice on your part too huh?" another smile ghosted across Raven's lips. Beast Boy grinned.
"Oh yeah," he agreed, and then he pretended to be fatigued. "Oh such a pain!" He allowed himself to fall foreword onto the ground. Raven chuckled.
"Go on," a genuine smile lit up her face. "Get out of here." Beast Boy stood up and grinned toothily at her.
"Yes ma'am!" he saluted Raven, and then marched down the hallway. "Hup, two, three, four…"
Raven smiled, and shook her head. Closing her door she could still hear Beast Boy making his way down the hallway. Then she turned her attention back to the book in her hand. She felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't been entirely honest with Beast Boy about it. She opened the book to a specific page and regarded it sadly.
The picture depicted a young, dark-skinned, woman standing triumphantly atop a fallen monster, her sword thrust into the air. The young woman was Sarasim. Cyborg had met her when he was accidentally transported into the past. Raven had pulled him into the future during the battle that was depicted on the pages of the book. He had never had the chance to say goodbye.
Raven carried the book over to the middle of her room. Using her telekinetic powers, she levitated some vials of powder towards her. She poured the powder into a circle around her, and sat down cross-legged with the book open on her lap. She began to chant softly, her eyes glowing white. She finished the spell, and closed her eyes as she was transported into the pages of the book.
When Raven opened her eyes again she was surrounded by desert. The Titan picked herself up, and dusted the sand off of her blue hooded cloak, and black leotard. She took a few steps, scowled, and levitated off of the ground. She pulled off her blue slipper-like shoes, and dumped the sand out of them before returning them to her feet, and touching back down to the ground. Raven looked around, spotted the village, and made her way towards it. Upon reaching the massive doors, Raven reached up and knocked on them. The sound seemed to echo all around the surrounding area.
"Who goes there?" a voice called down. Raven backed up so that she could see the speaker.
"My name is Raven," the Titan replied.
"You are unknown to us stranger," the voice replied.
"I am a friend of Cyborg's," Raven ventured. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the massive doors creaked open. The figure stood in the now lighted area. Raven recognized her right away as Sarasim herself.
"You are a friend of Cyborg's?" the young woman asked. Raven nodded. "Please come in." Raven followed the young woman into the village. The massive doors creaked as they shut behind her.
"Cyborg didn't abandon you," Raven spoke at length. "I took him away." Sarasim turned and regarded Raven with a perplexed look on her face. "I can do magic." Raven explained. "I reached through time and took him away. I'm sorry."
"You didn't know," Sarasim replied reassuringly.
"All the same, I wanted to apologize," Raven replied. "And offer you something." Sarasim turned and regarded her intently.
"Offer me something?" she repeated. Raven nodded. "What are you offering?"
"A chance to see Cyborg again," Raven replied. "I can bring you into the future. That is, if you want to." Sarasim considered.
"My village?" she asked a length.
"I know my History," Raven assured her. "Nothing bad will happen to your village again."
"And the future," Sarasim continued. "What is it like?"
"Unlike anything you've ever seen," Raven admitted.
"Well I would very much like to see Cyborg again," Sarasim replied. "But I think I am too primitive for the future."
"How about this," Raven offered. "I bring you to the future for a little while. Then you can decide whether or not you want to stay, or come back to your own time."
"Alright," Sarasim agreed. "But can you tell me about what life will be like there?"
"Cyborg and I are a part of a team that fights crime," Raven replied. "So you will want to bring some weapons with you."
"I am used to battles," Sarasim replied.
- Scene Break -
Beast Boy rapped on Cyborg's door, "Hey Cy open up!" He called. The robotic Titan opened the door and stared glumly down at his green friend.
"What?" he asked.
"Want to play Mega Monkey's with me?" Beast Boy asked.
"No thanks B.B." Cyborg replied. He began to close the door, but Beast Boy stuck one of his dark-magenta shoes into the crack. He winced as the door tried to close on his foot.
"Aw come on Cy!" he encouraged. The robotic Titan continued to stare dully down at him. "Please?"
"No," Cyborg repeated, and closed the door on Beast Boy's foot. The green Titan let out a yelp, and hopped up and down holding his foot in his hands.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he cried out, and hopped down the hallway. He stopped in front of Raven's door, and knocked. "Hey Raven it didn't work." He said dully. There was no response. "Raven?" Beast Boy put his foot down, and winced slightly. "Hello?" When there was still no response, the green Titan frowned. "Raven I'm coming in." He announced. He pushed a button, and the door whooshed open. The dark interior of Raven's room met his eyes.
The first thing that Beast Boy noticed was that the room was empty. He tentatively entered the forbidden room and looked around. He noticed Raven's meditation mirror, and made sure to stay well away from it. Being transported into her mind was not an experience that he was dying to repeat. Beast Boy scanned her room again, but there was no sign of the young woman. Beast Boy frowned, turned, and left Raven's room. He began to wander around Titan's tower looking for her, but there was still no sign of the telekinetic Titan. Now worried, Beast Boy trotted back to Cyborg's door and pounded on it again.
"Cy open up!" he bellowed. Cyborg opened the door and raised his one human eyebrow.
"What now man?" he asked, crossing his cybernetic arms across his chest.
"Have you seen Raven?" the green Titan enquired. Cyborg shook his head. Beast Boy threw his arms up into the air in dismay. "I can't find her anywhere." Cyborg smirked.
"Man, since when are you so worried about Raven?" he grinned down at Beast Boy. The olive-green cheeks of the young man began to turn red. Cyborg laughed uproariously. Beast Boy fiddled with his grey gloves, and scuffed the toe of his shoe on the floor. "Alright B.B. let's go look for her." He clapped Beast Boy on the back, sending the slender Titan sprawling to the floor. "Whoops." He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry man." Beast Boy muttered something inaudible, and the two young men made their way back to Raven's room. Once there, Cyborg raised his prosthetic hand and knocked loudly. "Hey Raven, you in there?" He called. As before, there was no response.
"Raven we're coming in," Beast Boy announced. He pressed the button, and again the door whooshed open. The two Titans surveyed the room quickly, but still saw no signs of Raven. Suddenly, Beast Boy noticed something that he hadn't noticed before, a book lying open on the ground. "Hey what's this?" He wondered aloud. He walked into the room, Cyborg creeping along behind him.
"If Raven catches us in here, we're dead," Cyborg stated. Beast Boy was more interested in the book on the floor than having to face Raven's wrath. Cautiously, he approached it. Around the book was a circle of powder. "This is so not going to end well." Cyborg wailed. Beast Boy ignored him, and slowly reached for the book. Abruptly a white light streamed out of the pages.
"Augh!" Beast Boy yelped, and jumped backwards into Cyborg's arms. They stood frozen in place as an arm reached out of the book. The blue wrist-band and black cloth identified the arm as Raven's. Her other arm reached out of the book, and telekinetic Titan pulled herself from the pages of the book. She regarded the two Titans clutching each other from underneath her blue hood.
"What are you doing in my room?" she asked at length. Cyborg dropped Beast Boy on the ground, and pointed accusingly at him.
"It was his idea," the robotic Titan squeaked. Beast Boy picked himself up, grimaced, and rubbed his backside.
"Tattletale," he muttered. Raven rolled her dark eyes, and then turned back to the book. Another arm reached out of the pages, and Beast Boy leapt back into Cyborg's prosthetic arms with a yelp. They watched as Raven grasped the arm, clad in tan a glove, and began to pull another figure out of the book. The figure was clad in dark-brown leggings, tan boots, a tan loincloth, and tan armour with a black half-moon and circle design on the chest. At the figure's side was a sword. Long black hair framed a dark-skinned face with blue eyes. Cyborg dropped Beast Boy again, his mouth falling open.
"Hello Cyborg," the figure said with a smile.
"Sarasim?" Cyborg asked. The figure nodded. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to stay for a while," she replied. Cyborg's one human eye lit up. Beast Boy groaned and stood up. He rubbed his backside again, and turned around only to be met by the chest-plate of Sarasim's armour.
"Ow!" Beast Boy grabbed his nose. "At this rate, I'm going to be a walking bruise!" He looked up and regarded Sarasim with his deep-green eyes. "Uh who are you?"
"This is Sarasim," Cyborg spoke up. Beast Boy's eyes widened.
"This is Sarasim?" he repeated. Cyborg nodded. "Sweet! Welcome to Titan's tower!" He held out a grey-gloved hand to Sarasim who shook it.
"You must be Boy Beast," she spoke at length. "Raven has told me much about you."
"Actually, it's 'Beast Boy,'" Beast Boy corrected with a grin. "And what did Raven tell you? That I'm hilarious? Handsome?" He winked at Raven who rolled her dark eyes.
"Delusional," Raven muttered softly. Beast Boy's large ears drooped slightly.
"She told me that you can change into animals," Sarasim answered his question. "She also said that you can be annoying, but you mean well." Beast Boy grinned sheepishly.
"We have to show you around the tower!" Cyborg exclaimed. He grabbed Sarasim's hand and charged out of Raven's room. Beast Boy and Raven followed. Cyborg excitedly began showing Sarasim the tower. Considering the fact that the young woman was in a time 5 000 years ahead of her own time, she was adjusting fairly well. "And here we have the Titan's living room!" Cyborg threw open the doors triumphantly. Sarasim took in the massive television screen, and computer with wide eyes.
"I understand now why you said I was primitive," she murmured. "If this is the life that you are used to."
"No, you're amazing," Cyborg replied. Sarasim smiled.
"Where is the rest of your team?" Sarasim inquired. "I am anxious to meet your friends."
"One way to find out," Beast Boy replied. He strolled over to a red button.
"B.B. no!" Cyborg exclaimed. The green Titan ignored the plea of his friend, and slammed his fist down on the button. Immediately, an alarm echoed throughout Titan's tower. Within moments, the doors of the living room flew open and another young man ran in. His jet-black hair was held in place by gel, and his black and yellow cape streamed out behind him.
"What's the trouble?" he asked. Cyborg, and Raven pointed at Beast Boy. The green Titan grinned sheepishly. The young man frowned, his mask narrowing. He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded Beast Boy sternly. Then he noticed Sarasim. "Who is this?" He asked.
"The reason I hit the alarm," Beast Boy replied.
"My name is Sarasim," Sarasim introduced herself. "You must be Robin, the team's leader."
"That's right," the Boy Wonder confirmed. He reached out a turquoise-gloved hand in greeting, which Sarasim shook.
"Uh Robin," Raven spoke up. The Titan's leader turned his attention to her. "Where's…" Before she could finish the question, the doors opened and a beautiful young woman flew in. She was a blur of purple, and mauve, with long red hair streaming out behind her.
"Forgive my tardiness friends," the young woman gushed. "But Silkie required my attention and…" She turned and noticed Sarasim. Her green eyes lit up, and she flew over to the dark-skinned girl. "Please you must tell me, who are you, where are you from, how did you get here, what is your favourite colour, and might you wish to be my friend?"
"I am Sarasim," the latter replied. "I am from the past, I was brought here by Raven, I don't have a favourite colour, and sure." The beautiful girl clapped her hands together happily, and enveloped Sarasim into a bone-crushing hug.
"Welcome new friend!" she gushed. Then she released Sarasim, and floated over towards Robin. The two Titans exchanged smiles.
"Starfire right?" Sarasim asked. The purple clad Titan nodded happily. Robin opened his mouth to speak, but the gigantic screen crackled to life revealing a masked figure.
"Hello Titans," the voice was soft, but menacing. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything." The single eye on the orange half of his mask narrowed. Robin clenched his fists.
"Slade," he spat out the name. The villain crossed his arms across his chest. "What do you want?"
"Now Robin, is that really the way to treat an old friend?" Slade asked mockingly.
"I'm not your friend," Robin hissed. Slade chuckled sadistically, and then regarded the Titans one-by-one until his gaze rested upon Starfire.
"Hello birthday girl," the single eye narrowed again. "I have a message." He then proceeded to say something that none of the Titans understood. As suddenly as he had appeared, Slade's image vanished from the screen. The Titans turned around and looked at Starfire. Her green eyes were wide.
"Starfire," Robin made his way towards her. "What just happened?"
"Dude, how come you didn't tell us it was your birthday?" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"Yeah Star," Cyborg chimed in. "I could've made my famous eight layered cake with three different types of frosting."
"More importantly," Robin spoke again. "How did Slade know it was your birthday?"
"I don't understand Tamaranian," Raven spoke up. "But whatever Slade said, it didn't sound good."
"What Slade spoke of is a secret that my family has passed down from generation to generation," Starfire finally spoke. "The only way he could possibly know both the anniversary of my birth, and the legend is if…" The screen crackled to life again. This time it was a young woman's image that filled the screen. She had long black hair, violet eyes, a black mini-skirt, grey belt, black and grey thigh-high boots, grey-fingerless gloves, and a black and grey high-necked sleeveless shirt that would have exposed her midriff if the skin from her neck down hadn't been covered with grey armour.
"Hello little sister," she smirked at Starfire. "I trust I haven't ruined your 19th birthday."
"Yes you have Blackfire," Starfire flew up and shook her fist at her sister's face. "You will not get away with this!" Blackfire simply laughed, and her image vanished from the screen. Starfire sighed, and floated back down to the ground. The Titans and Sarasim made their way towards her. Robin laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Starfire," he said softly. "What's going on?"
"It is the secret that my family has kept," Starfire replied. "A long time ago the people of Tamaran and the people of Azarath came together to build an ultimate weapon. Unfortunately, they underestimated the power of this weapon, discovering that it could in fact destroy a planet. Not wanting the weapon to fall into the wrong hands, the people of Tamaran and Azarath sent it away in a space ship."
"Well where is it now?" Beast Boy asked.
"No one knows," Starfire replied with a shrug. "The only other thing that my sister and I were told was the message that Slade delivered. Translated it reads 'The secret lies with Milo's Venus.'"
"So what the heck does that mean?" Beast Boy asked.
"I do not know," Starfire admitted sadly. The Titans were silent for a while.
"It's a clue," Sarasim spoke up. "A clue to the whereabouts of this weapon. Most likely passed down so that if needed, a member of your family could find it and destroy it before it got into the wrong hands."
"That means Blackfire is trying to find it too," Raven replied. "And she's teaming up with Slade to do it."
"Then we'll just have to find it before she does," Cyborg announced. Then he turned to Sarasim. "This isn't your fight Sarasim." He said softly. "You do not have to fight it."
"You assisted us in our battle," Sarasim replied. "So I will stay and help you with yours." Cyborg's face lit up.
"So, 'The secret lies with Milo's Venus' huh?" Beast Boy confirmed. Starfire nodded. Beast Boy furrowed his black eyebrows. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
"Could it mean the planet Venus?" Cyborg ventured.
"No, that doesn't fit with the Milo part," Robin frowned and began to pace. His black metal-enforced shoes made no noise on the rug.
"It's the Venus de Milo," Raven realized aloud at length.
"Is that a place?" Beast Boy asked her. Raven shook her head.
"No, it's a statue," she replied. "Currently residing in The Louvre in Paris."
"Well then I guess we're going to Paris," Sarasim replied.
"Sweet!" Beast Boy pumped his fist. "We can see that big tower thingy and that famous arch!"
"That's the Eiffel Tower," Raven corrected. "And the Arch de Triumph." Beast Boy's ears drooped.
"Besides," Robin crossed his arms again. "We won't have time to sight-see, we'll be there strictly on business. Titans, pack for Paris."
"Hold on," Sarasim frowned. "We want to find this before Slade right?" Robin nodded. "Well won't we draw attention to ourselves looking the way we do?"
"She's right," Cyborg replied. "We'll have to do this like normal American citizens."
"I'll book us the earliest possible flight to Paris," Robin replied. "Titans, dress like civilians, we don't want to attract any attention."
"Uh dude," Beast Boy piped up. "What about me?"
"No problem B.B." Cyborg's arm produced a needle. "I'll analyze your DNA and see if I can find something to stabilize it." Beast Boy paled at the sight of the needle.
"I shall take Sarasim to the mall of shopping to purchase some clothes," Starfire offered. Then she dragged Sarasim out of the room. Robin sat down at the computer and began to type.
"Alright B.B." Cyborg announced. "Let's have a look at this DNA of yours." He rolled up the black sleeve of Beast Boy's costume exposing his olive-green bicep. Raven noticed that her green team-mate had tears in his eyes. She walked over to him, and sat down.
"Beast Boy," she reached out, and gently placed her hand on his cheek. "Look at me." The green Titan turned towards her, his deep-green eyes filled with tears. Cyborg tied an elastic band around Beast Boy's arm to make his veins stick out. Unfortunately, this also got Beast Boy's attention. Raven firmly, but gently, turned his face back towards her. "Beast Boy." She repeated. "Look at me." A tear escaped and ran down his face. Raven gently brushed it away. "Look at me." She repeated gently. Cyborg slid the needle into Beast Boy's arm. The green Titan stiffened, and bit his lip. "Look at me." Raven insisted. She kept her dark eyes locked with his as blood began to fill the needle, Beast Boy's blood.
"Alright, that should do it," Cyborg announced, taping a cotton ball onto Beast Boy's arm. "I'll go analyze this and see what I can come up with." This being said, the robotic Titan exited the living room. Beast Boy rolled the sleeve of his costume back down.
"Raven?" he looked up at her. "Thank-you."
"No problem," she replied with a smile. Then she got up and headed to her room to pack.