Story: City of Changed Memories

Summary: Sequel to "My Surrender".It's been ten years since Raven left the Teen Titans in order to have some time alone to think about how she felt for Starfire, and now she's finally returning to the city she once left behind. Having confronted herself about her true feelings and that she knows she could never act on them, Raven only wants to return in time to say goodbye before she leaves to find her mother, whom she had received a message from saying that she had somehow survived the devastation on Azarath. That's all she wants to do before leaving forever…but that's not the only thing she'll be doing before leaving Earth. Especially seeing what's become of the Teen Titans. (Possible Rae/Star)

Warnings: Language, Violence, Alcohol Abuse, Sexual Themes (this does not mean there will be sex)

…

A tall woman in her late twenties wearing a long thin strapped jet black dress with a slit up the left side that ran to her waist, showing sickly pale skin, stopped on a not-so-sandy beach with water lapping at her black stilettos. She pushed some of her waist-length purple-black hair out of the way of her light purple eyes as they scanned the area ahead of her leading to the tall T-shaped tower.

She considered levitating over to the tower, but stopped the thought before finishing it and looked down at her hands, still clad in the same jet black arm warmers with the ruby jewel they always had been – the only difference was that now they ran to her shoulders. Raven clenched her fists together, saying:

"Would they…even want to see me after all these years?"

A voice came from behind her; "Ma'am?"

She whipped around suddenly at the voice and found herself staring at a child with the build of a young boy, but with all the facial features of a young girl: lanky yet halfway muscular frame, longish light red hair, and light green eyes. "S-Starfire?" She had the look and voice of Raven's old friend, but was clearly too young.

The girl blinked twice before shaking her head. "That's my mom. Are you looking for her?"

"Uh," it was then that she realized that the girl was wearing a dark blue, almost black leotard with a dark blue cape, and a gold belt inlaid with giant rubies, "yeah. Does she still live in that tower?" Raven pointed to the T Tower.

The little girl shook her head. "No one does. The last of us – me, mom, and dad – moved out, and into an apartment about three years ago. I still go there sometimes with Uncle Cyborg when he's here so that he can charge himself up, plus we try to keep it as clean as possible."

"Cyborg," Raven mumbled, never thinking she would hear her friend's name so soon again. "What about Beast Boy?"

The girl shrugged. "We don't know where he went; he just disappeared one day."

"…I guess Robin's your…father."

The girl nodded once. "Yes. But…I don't see him much anymore unless Uncle Cyborg's here."

"Really?"

"Yeah." The girl looked around. "So, um, did you want to go see my mom?"

Raven nodded once. "Yes."

"Okay, come on." The girl began to lead the older woman through the city quickly, and to an almost run-down-looking apartment complex. They went up to the second floor, to apartment 2D, where the girl unlocked a door and went inside. "Mom, I'm home."

"Oh, good," a joyful voice came from further inside the apartment, "I just finished lunch!"

"Okay!" She began removing her shoes when she remembered Raven. "Oh, yeah, I, um, brought someone here who wanted to see you."

There was no voice responding from the kitchen area where it had obviously come earlier, but there were emotional waves of sorrow and anger. Even the little girl stood standing still for a moment before walking forward with Raven trailing a bit behind.

As the girl turned the corner into the kitchen, she froze in the archway and bit her bottom lip. "Mom, I—"

The voice cut off her daughter's, "Raven, I told you not to bring anyone here…I do not want anyone to notice what Robin has—"

"She was looking for you at the old tower, so I thought that maybe…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

Raven blinked twice. "Your name…is Raven, too?"

The child Raven nodded. Before anything else could be said, a woman about Raven's age – late twenties – flew out of the kitchen in a purple tank top and hip-hugger blue jeans.

Raven's eyes widen at the look of her old friend. "Star?" Starfire's once long light red hair had been cut to shoulder length, her once bright skin was pale, and the light green eyes that once shone with life now reflected bitter sorrow.

Though this was, Starfire's eyes still lit up with joy at the sight of her friend. "Raven!" She walked over and gave the friend she hadn't seen in years the same crushing hug that she had in years past. "It is so great to see you again!" She released her. "Where have you been all this time?"

"…Around." Raven looked around at the apartment itself as Starfire told her daughter to go get the sandwiches she had made for lunch, and to make an extra for their guest. "I can't believe you're not living in the tower anymore."

"I know," she agreed as she sat down on the stained light brown couch. "It was hard to leave that place—I did not want to, I was convinced that you would return one day." She smiled small. "I was correct."

Raven sat down carefully next to her friend, making sure not to seem like she was trying to come on the girl she hadn't seen in ten years with her choice of clothes. "It seems we switched hairstyles."

Starfire chuckled. "Yes, it seems that way."

After a moment of awkward silence, Raven asked, "So, why aren't you living in the tower anymore?"

Starfire didn't answer for a while, staring at the archway leading to the kitchen. A small shadow that belonged to her daughter was there. "I cannot say right now, but I do promise to tell you at a later time."

Raven looked over and saw the shadow too; she nodded, understanding. "That's fine."

The child Raven walked out of the kitchen carrying a largish wooden tray with three plates on it that each held a ham and cheese sandwich and a handful of plain potato chips. She put the tray down on a small wooden coffee table and then ran back into the kitchen to retrieve three glasses full of Coca-Cola.

She sat down on her knees across from her mother and the woman she was obviously named after, and picked up her sandwich to eat it.

Raven chuckled once before picking up the sandwich and biting into it. There was nothing odd about the taste, nothing odd about the sandwich; it was just a plain old ham and cheese sandwich. "No funky ingredients anymore?"

Starfire bit into the sandwich and shook her head. "No. It is hard to obtain the items that I normally put into my cooking nowadays."

"Why?" Raven took another bite.

"I have not been to Tameran in a long time. With Raven," she gestured to her daughter, "to look after, and with Robin always gone, I have not been in almost ten years. Even Blackfire has not paid me the visit since the last time we met."

"I can't say I would miss her any." The last time they had met with Blackfire, they ended up accidentally marrying her to Starfire's betrothed glob of goo. She swore revenge on the Teen Titans for it.

"I understand why you would say that, but she is my sister." Starfire sighed. "And she does not even know she has a niece. I know she would change the way she acts towards us if she only knew."

The child Raven finished off her sandwich and began eating the chips. "Aunt Blackfire does not seem nice. She seems like a klor—"

"Do not use that word!" Starfire shook her head sternly, but she seemed a tad happy that the Tameranian language passed on to her daughter.

"Yes mom." She silently continued to eat her chips.

Raven chuckled a bit and took another bite of the sandwich, just now noticing something, or rather someone missing. "So, where's Robin?"

"Well, he's," Starfire gasped slightly as the door to the apartment opened.

As if on cue, Robin stumbled in the door wearing ripped blue jeans, a stained white t-shirt, a torn flannel jacket, and old white Nike sneakers. His short black hair looked disheveled. He dropped an empty clear bottle from his hand and leaned against the wall near the kitchen.

Starfire stood up and closed the door behind him slowly, as if afraid to make any truly sudden movements. Just as slowly, she walked over to him and gently grabbed his shoulder. He turned his head to look at her.

"What do you want?" He didn't seem happy in the least, even if his anger wasn't with his wife.

"Um, we have a visitor." She stepped aside and gestured to Raven, who stood up at the sight of his bloodshot eyes and stubbled face that looks years older than what it was.

"Robin," she blinked in shock, "is that you?"

He blinked a few times and then rubbed his eyes before saying, "Raven?"

The child Raven stood up and quickly took her empty plate into the kitchen, she only returned to the living room for her glass before retreating to her room.

"What happened to you?" Raven took in his appearance, now understanding why Starfire looked so sad and sick.

"Nothing." He turned into the kitchen and grabbed something, a liquor bottle, out of the fridge before returning to the living room and plopping down on the couch.

"Mind if I borrow Star for a few hours?" She wanted to get Starfire away from him, from the apartment, even for a short while.

"Whatever."

Raven grabbed Starfire's hand and led her out of the apartment, only pausing long enough for the ladder to put on her black Nike's. Once they were out of the apartment and down the hall a bit, Starfire stopped Raven from dragging her by pulling her hand away. She stopped walking.

"What about Raven, my daughter?" Starfire looked back in the direction of the apartment.

"If she's anything like how I was at her age, she'll be fine," Raven said, stopping not too far in front of her friend.

"Why are you doing this? Even when Beast Boy was around, he never joked or even asked me or Robin to join him when he went dancing, and he was the most energetic." Starfire gazed at the back of Raven's head. "Why?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Raven turned around and hugged Starfire tightly. "Because I saw how you're living, I saw—hell, I see how sad you look, and I noticed even more that you seemed reluctant around Robin…" She backed away just enough to look in Starfire's eyes. "How long has he been like that?"

"Since we moved out of the tower."

"Three years?"

"Raven told you?"

Raven nodded.

"Yes, it has been that long. But it seems like so much longer." Starfire rested her head on Raven's shoulder. "I do not know how much longer I can deal with him." Her shoulders began to heave slightly as she sniffed. "He is becoming unbearable."

Raven hugged her friend close to her with a few tears streaming down her own cheeks. God, how things have changed.