A/N: Here we go, my first angst story ever. And I had to make it Teen Titans. Pardon my writing since I'm still new to this, I did try really hard to make it not sound so sad. I attempted to add inbetween parts to the angst, but I don't think it turned out that well. Also, I was so tempted to write a follow-up chapter to make the story end on a happy note, but then it would cancel out the reason why I decided to make it angst.

Props to Kryalla Orchid and her stories of RobxStar that I have enjoyed reading. I was inspired by Waiting and Waiting II to write this story! Although, I don't come close to her level of writing.

Enjoy the read! And please review and give me "creative feedback" so I can write better stories!

The Freedom She Needed

Silence.

The cold morning air wove an intricate web in, out and through the streets of the sleeping Jump City. The frost crawled up around the edges of windows, seeping through the walls and into the houses of the residents. Shadows were racing to retreat back into the deep corners of the city for they knew the sun was about to approach. However, not a single soul stirred, no cars leisurely rolling down the streets, nothing at all. All the inhabitants of the beautiful city were asleep and resting up for the day's events.

It was as if the city itself knew something big was about to occur.

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Across the harbor of Jump City, there was a lone island with a single structure built atop it; shaped like a T, it watched over the citizens. This was the home of the famous crime-fighting group called the Teen Titans—Jump City was proud to house such important figures in the crime fighting world, only coming second to the Justice League. And inside that giant T-shaped building, an alarm clock decided to awaken its owner.

4:30am. That's what the red flashing lights on the clock said.

From underneath a thick pile of red, green and yellow sheets came out a slender hand. It clumsily found its way to the bedside table and quickly pushed the 'off' button before withdrawing back into the sheets. There was movement underneath the sheets as the sleeper pushed away the warm covers of the blanket, revealing a young woman with tousled red locks. She blinked open her eyes and found the sun had yet to peek through the cracks of her closed blinds.

Good. Sunrise hadn't come yet.

Sitting upright, the redhead allowed her red hair to fall over her shoulders and down her back. The cold air in the room prickled her bare skin and she was glad her hair was long enough to keep most of her back warm. Groaning, she swung her legs over the side of her circular bed and took a moment of thought before standing up and heading towards the bathroom.

Starfire turned on the shower and quickly undressed before stepping inside. The freezing water splashed her body, but she didn't shiver or was phased by it. She had already taken too many of these showers to even care if the water was cold or warm when she got in. She shook her head to get her hair completely dry and began her routine wash. After finishing, Starfire quickly dressed in her normal attire. She checked her bathroom clock to see it was 5:15am already; she had taken too long showering today. Speed-drying her hair, she hastily placed the towel on the rack and headed out from the bathroom. Without any hesitation, Starfire continued to walk down the hallways, passing many rooms along the way—some were unused while others were occupied with sleeping residents.

She expertly navigated the long hallways of the tower before coming to a stop in front of a door she had gone through at least a hundred times within the past week. Slowly opening it, Starfire began her way up the stairs where she knew would lead to the top of Titans Tower.

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Opening the door to the roof, Starfire instantly recognized the faint light of the sun peaking through the horizon. She walked forward towards the edge of the tower and took a seat, putting one foot over the ledge and the other up so her chin rested on it. It was a beautiful sunrise, the sun beams had just begun to peek through the horizon, casting multiple lights on the water's surface. Starfire only recently began waking up extra early just to watch the sunrise every morning.

She felt peace when she saw it, but more importantly, it was her constant reminder to stay positive and hope for a new day.

But lately, even the sunrise couldn't lift her spirits up.

"Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg…Robin, Nightwing, Richard, I miss you guys." The Tamaranian princess whispered as she allowed her tears to freely fall.

She was the last of the original Teen Titans; everyone else had left one way or another. The time of the Titans was over; there was a new batch of young Titans living under the roof of Titans Tower. It was their job to train and prepare them to protect Jump City. It was the plan of the original Titans to take in new generation super heroes since all of them weren't teenagers anymore. However, not everything goes according to plan, not even for Jump City's heroes.

Starfire stayed in that position, crying out her sorrow until the sun was well into the sky. She would have stayed there the entire day if she didn't have a schedule to keep up. There was training that was needed to be done today and if she didn't keep up with the routine, the others would start wondering what was wrong with her. Standing up slowly, Starfire began the walk back down to the common room where she knew the other Titans would be. Her body worked on auto-pilot while she allowed her mind to fly thousands of light years away from her body.

She headed down the stairs and back into the hallway, a particular room catching her eye as she passed it. Memories of the past came flooding back into her head as she resisted the tears that were threatening to spill out. No one used that room, at least, not anymore. Starfire didn't have the heart to clean the room.

Raven was the first to leave the group. It was so unexpected and took everyone by surprise. Starfire recalled the day before Raven had left; the Titans had been victorious in one of the most brutal battles they had ever fought. Pride was racing through each Titan that day, proud that all the years of hard training had paid off. Everyone had minor cuts and bruises but she healed everyone, and Raven said she was fine. They were all tired, so they all agreed to take a break that day to rest. Everyone left for their rooms, and the next day, Raven had left the team. That was it, no goodbye, no reason, no note. Starfire had cried for a whole week after the team found out; but it was Beast Boy who took it the hardest. Everyone had known the changeling had hidden feeling for Raven, and after she left, he was never the same. His jokes became less frequent and he didn't even bother arguing with Cyborg over breakfast. It was as if his reason for living life had disappeared from his eyes.

Starfire had finally reached the common room. She recalled her mind back from the abyss and wiped away her tear tracks before plastering on the best smile she could muster. The common room was still the same; it was only the people that lived there who changed. Almost all the new Titans were present, each doing their own business. Looking towards the couch, Starfire spotted Conner, or Superboy, with the remote, flipping through the channels. It had surprised Starfire when she found out he had been cloned from the DNA of superman himself.

On the far end of the couch was Bart Allen, also known as Kid Flash. Wally had grown out of his K.F. gig, taking over his mentor's role as Flash and helped established the new Justice League. He had asked Nightwing a few years ago, but he turned it down because the new Titans were still young and needed mentors. Bart was able to take on Kid Flash, having the same energy as all the previous Flashes before him.

Over in the kitchen were the only two girls of the team, Cassie Sandsmark or Wonder Girl and M'gann or Miss Martian. They were best friends, always helping each other out. They reminded Starfire of her and Raven when they were younger.

"Good morning Starfire! How was the sunrise today?" Wonder Girl waved her hands up, reeling Starfire's lost mind back to reality.

"Oh, it was as glorious as ever friend Cassie." Starfire told herself to reply.

Just then, the doors slid open to reveal the last of the new Titans, Robin. This wasn't Starfire's Robin though; his read attire was a constant reminder to her that he wasn't Dick. No, this was Tim Drake, Batman's latest protégé and the Titans' rising leader. He was a good leader and she had slowly begun to pass the role of leader to him.

"Good morning friend Tim, have you eaten the morning breakfast yet?" Starfire casually asked as she walked over towards the fridge.

Raising a brow, Tim shook his head, "No, I haven't. I'm surprised you didn't eat yet Starfire, you're normally the first to wake up."

"I had some things to take care of earlier today. But let us quickly finish the breakfast! I've got a most rigorous training session for everyone today." Starfire said aloud, smirking as she heard the groans of the Titans.

Together, they ate breakfast in silence, enjoying the moment to think. Starfire sighed; a few years ago, this same table would have been alive with constant yelling from Beast Boy and Cyborg. Even if it was obnoxious, their arguments on real and fake meat were always amusing.

Her mind returned to that far away abyss as her thoughts landed on the green changeling. It was no surprise he would be the next one to leave. Starfire had known for a while he would decide to leave and go after Raven. He had loved her too much to move on. She only wished he had chosen a better time to go. Starfire had gone back to Tamaran to help create a peace treaty with the enemy and her people; as the remaining heir to the throne, she felt it was her duty. Halfway through the trip, Nightwing—who was still Robin then—had contacted her saying Beast Boy had left. She had broken down in front of the whole council that day, and an understanding Galfore had sent her home to Earth as fast as possible. The people of Jump City had erected statues of Raven and Beast Boy to indicate their departure and imprint they had on the city. It was a very kind gesture and Robin, Cyborg and she were there at the unveiling.

The sound of falling dishes brought Starfire back to reality; Bart had slipped and dropped the plates on his way to the sink. Trying to distract her mind from returning to the abyss, she occupied her eyes with various items in the common room. Scanning over the Titans, she noticed Tim staring at her with concern and managed a weak smiled to show she was alright. Tim didn't look convinced, but decided to accept her attempt at a smile; it seems he'd have to ask his teacher a few questions later.

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The training session went on an hour after breakfast had started. Starfire was pushing the Titans to their limits. She wasn't lying when she had told them the training was going to be intense. The tower's entire gymnasium was being put to use, that is, all but two pieces of equipment: Nightwing's gym rings and Cyborg's recharging station at the corner of the room. They didn't use Nightwing's rings because they feared Conner would break them with his strength, so Starfire had a new set installed to withstand Conner's impressive strength. Finally, the recharging station was unused because no one really needed to charge themselves, Cyborg had been the only on.

Starfire's mind began to wander back into the abyss as she thought of the half robotic Titan. His departure was unexpected like Raven's. A year had passed since Beast Boy left, leaving only the three of them to watch over Jump City. The first change was when Robin had shedded the red, yellow and green attire to take on the name of Nightwing. It was only a few months later that the three decided it was time to pass the Teen Titan's mantle to new superheroes; just like they had all planned before. Nightwing was in charge of combat training, Cyborg was in charge of conditioning and Starfire took over endurance training. It was a brightening experience for all three of them. Teaching the new Titans allowed them to smile again, to remember what it was like to view life through teenagers' eyes. It also allowed Nightwing and herself to reveal their feelings for one another—with the help of Cyborg and the other Titans. Everything was becoming normal again. However, Cyborg's parts began to become problematic and he they were in need of replacement. So he packed to visit his dad in S.T.A.R labs to get himself revamped. He promised he'd return, and the two remaining Titans took his word, waiting for him. They took over the conditioning portion of the training, working together to teach that section to the other Titans. At first, Cyborg called daily to check up on everyone and give Nightwing reports on his progress. But soon enough, he stopped the daily calls when he began the process of changing parts. Training the new Titans also kept Nightwing and herself busy and within the blink of an eye, six months had gone by. The day he was scheduled to return, they waited a top the tower where they started to sit together to watch the sunset. They had such good news to tell Cyborg; Nightwing and herself were engaged! But fate enjoyed twisting their lives. That day, S.T.A.R labs called the two of them and said Cyborg couldn't return anymore, not now, not ever. The scientists refused to allow them to talk to their comrade and cut off all connections with the remaining two Titans. Things were at their lowest point, and it could have been much worse, but Nightwing was there to soothe and calm her down. He made her promises and reassured the Tamaranian princess; she still had him and the new Titans.

The end of the training session allowed Starfire to bring herself back to reality again to tell the Titans they were done for the day. She had worked them too hard, and she felt guilty because her mind wasn't really into the session. She looked at the clock on the wall and did a double-take; hours had passed by so quickly that it was almost sunset. Excusing herself from the rest of the group, she quickly made her way back to the rooftop of the Titan's Tower. She ran as fast as her legs would take her. Starfire couldn't fly anymore, at least not as easily as she had been able to before. She would only be able to take full flight when she would fight because of her righteous fury allowing her to use the emotion to take flight in battle; she had too many sad memories that flooded her head daily to allow her to fly leisurely.

Catching her breath, she leaned against the door to the stairs for a moment. After gaining enough air in her lungs, she pushed it open and made her way up towards the roof where she could see the beginning lights of the sunset pouring through the cracks of the door.

Robin. Nightwing. Richard.

She opened the door to be met with the orange, pink, yellow and red streaks of the setting sun. And for a brief instant, her hair regained that fiery shine it was known for, her eyes glowed green with unbridled joy and she suddenly felt light footed. Starfire walked up to a certain spot on the ledge of the tower, a spot that had slowly begun to get worn out from being sat on constantly. Everyday at sunset, Nightwing and her would just sit there and watch the sun, and continue to watch it long after it had set. They kept each other company through all the hardships and joyous moments. It was in this very spot where they shared their first kiss and where he finally proposed to her. Starfire absently fingered the ring that was still on her middle finger, tracing the shape of the jewel that was on the center. The two of them would come here to be each others' sturdy rock, as best friends, as lovers, as just Dick Grayson and Kori Anders. He had promised forever and meant it, but fate never pitied them. It didn't care how many of their friends had left, because it had separated them too.

Kori let loose the tears she had held back since she left the rooftop after sunrise. Richard was her medicine, the biggest reason why she was able to heal from all the losses. He was her anchor to the world and she was his, they were to be married in only a month's time! Yet it only took a single battle and a week's worth of waiting for him to have to leave her too.

She couldn't take the pain anymore, she missed them all, Rachel, Garfield, Vic and Richard, especially Richard.

And it was time for her to fly after them.

Feeling a sudden swell of energy flow through her, Kori stood up and peered down towards the ocean at the base of Titan's island. Flying for the first time in many months was a scary thought, but she wanted to do this; her friends were waiting out there for her. Kori took a deep breath and shook out all fear of falling away from her body. She was Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, one of the strongest warrior cultures of the galaxy! Why was she afraid of falling when flight was one of the first things she had learned as a child?

"You can do this Kori." She muttered to herself.

"Can do what?" A voice spoke from behind and Kori froze in her tracks.

She turned around from her spot and saw as Tim Drake walked from the doorway of the rooftop to her, dressed out of his Robin attire.

"N-nothing friend Tim! I am merely doing the pretending." she quickly said the first thing that came to her mind.

"You're not thinking of flying are you?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"I-I—ah—uhh, well why can I not? It is perfectly normal for a Tamaranian to take flight whenever—" she was cut off.

"Oh cut the crap Kori, I know you haven't been able to fly out of battle for a while now." Tim said loudly, "ever since Dick—"

"Please, do not talk of him at the moment." Kori's voice cracked, and Tim realized what he was about to say.

He could feel the immense pool of sadness Kori had been drowning in and felt guilty that he was just about to add to that pool by mentioning Dick. Dick Grayson was the only one capable of saving Kori from drowning in that pool, but he had left right when she was at the edge. The day Dick left was a sad day for the rest of the Titans as well, he was Tim's mentor, the Robin before him, and Batman's first son. But to Kori, he was her best friend, fierce leader, lover and would-have-been husband; Bruce and he only came in second compared to the pain he knew Kori was dealing with daily. All she had left of her friends and lover were the items they had left behind: Dick's blanket and the four statues Jump City erected for the four Titans that had gone.

Sighing, he stood next to the taller Tamaranian woman and stared at the sunset, "I know you two spent time together everyday to watch the sunset. I've seen you."

"Yes, we would comfort each other with our losses." She answered as she turned to stare at the sunset.

"I'm sorry he had to leave, I'm sorry they all did." he stated, keeping Kori's movements in his peripheral.

"It's been a year since Richard left, and five since Raven, it has been hard."

"Why do you call him Richard instead of Dick like everyone else?"

Kori smiled what looked to Tim as the first real smile in a while, "he always told me he liked how I said his name."

There was a long moment of silence between the two of them. Tim had never really confronted Kori of her feelings these past few years; he always thought she was the strong Tamaranian; he had failed to notice the young woman who was still susceptible to emotions. He stared at her in a new light; realizing she would have been his older sister in law if she married Dick. And as Dick's unofficial adopted brother, he needed to keep her safe.

"You know, Dick would have been disappointed in your action." He said, getting a reaction from Kori.

"You don't even know what I was about to do!" Kori defended herself.

"Stop lying already Kori! I know you were planning on leaving too!" he retorted, pointing towards the sunset, which was halfway finished with its journey.

Kori glared at the young boy before her eyes became watery and she let out a bitter laugh, "so you have caught me."

"Why would you want to leave? Don't you like your life here in Titan's Tower?"

"Please, do not be mistaken, I have enjoyed our moments together, but I fear that I am not whole anymore. Too much of my heart has been taken from me when the others left. I miss them so much; I want to go after them now."

"But Kori, what you're planning is-!" Tim began but was cut off again.

"I have thought this over for many months now friend Tim." she said solemnly.

"Y-you can't! What about us Titans? We still need someone to watch over us!" Tim cried, blinking away the oncoming tears.

"No you guys do not. I have watched you grow these past few years; you are ready to lead the Titans. And if you must, Wally is only a call away." Kori smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Tim shrugged it away, determined to keep Kori from leaving, "I'm sure Dick wouldn't have let you do this! It's completely selfish; he'd want you to stay!"

With this Kori drew a long breath and remained silent. Tim watched as she closed her eyes and allowed a stray tear fall from her eye, "I know he would not"

Now that surprised him, "then why would you…"

"Because for once, I am being selfish for myself; I can not live without them Tim, please understand! I must go after them." She pleaded him.

It was then—looking into her eyes—that Tim saw how vulnerable this woman had always been; a shell of the former Teen Titan, Starfire, wanting nothing more than to chase after the family she had formed, the family that was forced to leave her. He knew he couldn't deny her the freedom she needed.

Tim let loose his tears, closing his eyes because he didn't want to see Kori's face, "I-I p-promised D-dick I'd keep you s-safe! That I'd k-keep you h-here!" he wailed, running up to the older woman and hugging her like no tomorrow.

Kori was caught off guard by the new Boy Wonder's sudden burst of emotion. She smiled and gently wrapped him in a hug, "and you did just that. You kept me here much longer than I intended. I did say I was thinking about it for months now."

Letting go of him, she bent down to his height, "now, promise me you will be a brave, strong and fearless leader for the others."

"O-okay Kori." Tim wiped his face with his sleeves.

"Now, I must go, Richard and the others are waiting for me, send the others my farewells." she said standing up and facing the ocean, the last of the sun's rays bouncing of her fiery hair and lustrous eyes.

"Tell them I said hello." Tim managed to say before backing up.

Smiling, Kori stared at the sun until the last of its rays vanished from the horizon. There was a new passion coursing inside her, one that gave her confidence, strength and new found hope. It was already growing dark fast, but Kori's hair still shone with a fiery intensity, as if the sun was still shining on her and her eyes were beginning to glow a bright green, one that Tim had not seen in years. He knew this was the Starfire, the Koriand'r that fell to Earth all those years ago and helped form the Teen Titans. She was back, and she was finally going to see her friends after so long.

Starfire took one last breath as she leaped off the side of the Titans Tower, laughing as she felt her hidden Tamaranian powers resurface back to life. Starfire spread out her arms and legs to veer farther away from Titans Tower and over the vast ocean below. Taking one last glance at her old home, she spotted Tim making his way back inside the tower. With a surge of energy, Starfire positioned her body in a streamline form to remove as much wind resistance as possible. She allowed her Tamaranian powers to flow through her entire body before disappearing.

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Tim Drake spent what felt like hours standing outside the same door holding a folded newspaper in his right hand. Did he have the strength to go in there and face the truth? He didn't take the time to answer that as he punched in the numbers to unlock the door that was labeled 'Nightwing.'

This was the room of his mentor, the previous Robin, Dick Grayson. Old newspapers and articles were scattered all over the room, untouched by time as the Titans kept the room preserved. The only hint of life in the room was the clipped news articles Tim had put atop the desk in the middle of the room. He took a scissor from the table and begun clipping today's news article; making it the newest and hopefully last addition to the pile. Carefully, he placed it on the empty space next to the article in the middle. There were a total of five clippings now, and each told the story of the deaths of the original Teen Titans.

Starfire had died that day—according to the papers, she had disappeared and was proclaimed dead—but Tim knew better, she purposefully dived into the ocean. Miss Martian, Wonder Girl, Superboy, Kid Flash and himself had just come back from the memorial Jump City made for Starfire. There were five statues overlooking the city now and Tim couldn't believe how unfair fate had been to these momentous superheroes. Was fate always a bad guy? Did it enjoy picking off each member of the Titans for fun and watch as their teammates suffered from the loss and laughed when they chose death over life?

Raven had been dealt a critical wound that day of the fight, but she didn't show it. Instead, she healed everyone else and hid the pain up until she died sometime during the early morning hours.

Beast Boy followed after his dream girl, overdosing in depressant pills one day. No one was sure whether that was on accident or on purpose.

The parts Cyborg were fitted into never really functioned properly. On his way to the airport, the parts shut down, cutting off the only support his frail human organ had. The S.T.A.R scientists didn't make it in time and to cover up their huge blunder, they refused to send Cyborg's body back to Jump City.

And finally, Nightwing went down as a hero, the way he would have wanted. He was poisoned badly after a big battle. Without Cyborg's analysis and Raven's healing powers, Starfire was forced to watch as the poison slowly deteriorated his internal organs. It was the most terrifying thing the new Titans had faced. After he died, Starfire refused to leave his body for days until Batman forced her to accept reality.

Fate was cruel, twisted and cynical. It played with the lives of the Titans and tortured Starfire up to the brink of a depressive insanity. Tim smiled bitterly as he stared at the five articles; he peeled off his mask and watched as tears fell down his cheeks and onto the table. Fate thinks it has won, but it didn't realize by killing Starfire, it gave her the one thing she truly wanted…

The freedom that she needed.

A/N: There you go! So I don't need to say what happened, but did you all expect that to happen? Probably, I didn't hide it well. Review please!