Part 4: Confusion

3 long agonizing weeks had passed since Ryuki disappeared. The Titans found out about his disappearance when they found the infirmary door knocked over and Beast Boy lying unconscious.

Ryuki had gone missing.

Jinx had gone hysterical, demanding that Ryuki be found. The Titans tried everything to track him, even using the chip that Pluto had implanted in Ryuki's neck. However, they had no such luck in finding him as he had left his communicator and the chip had either been removed, destroyed or had its signal blocked.

The worse part was not knowing. Could Ryuki be alive? Could Ryuki be dead? Jinx hoped it was the latter…she just hoped he was alright after what Shadow had told them.

It would seem that all Orphenochs suffered from a side effect of their transformation. The evolution was still quite unstable and continuous shifting between human and Orphenoch forms would slowly kill them, reducing them to ashes, which was how they found the remains of Johnny Rancid; ashes.

Also, about 3 weeks ago, the same time Ryuki went missing, the ashen remains of three men were found in an alley. The Titans instinctively knew who had done it, though Jinx wanted to deny it.

That was 3 weeks ago…and this was today. The Titans still had no clue of Ryuki's whereabouts.

Jinx was in her room, lying facedown on her bed. She had been sobbing, clearly evident from her running make up. She reached for her bedside table and picked up a framed photograph. It was a group photo of the Titans that had been taken back on Gaijo. Ryuki was standing next to her, and his eyes were on her, not the camera. She smiled at the memory as he had stolen a kiss that day. The boy she loved…the boy that had given her a choice in life, a better one…the boy who had saved her life.

"Ryuki…? Where are you?" she sniffled, rubbing the tears away. Ryuki would usually sense that she was saddened and come and comfort her. However, it would seem that he wasn't coming in through the door anytime soon. She wished that the one knocking on her door would be Ryuki. Unfortunately, it had been one of the other Titans. Don't get her wrong; the Titans were her friends, but she wanted…needed Ryuki. She placed the picture back on the bedside table and cried again.

Shadowcobra was on the roof with Raven, meditating together, or at least they tried. The past 3 weeks had taken its toll on the two hybrids. Shadow was worried about his (best) friend and despite showing no emotion, Raven was getting worried too. They knew that Ryuki's psychological state was unstable since his change and they were afraid, if they did find him, of what they would find in his place.

Shadow lowered the collar of his cloak. He had a worried expression on his face. Raven pulled down her hood, her expression matching his.

"Raven, what if we don't find him?" Shadow said fearfully.

"We will, Shadow," Raven assured him, "Trust me."

"That's what I'm afraid of, luv," he paused, "What if instead of our friend, we find a raging and evil beast?"

"Ryuki? Evil?" Raven question, "Doesn't seem like his style."

"But he has tasted evil, and he still has a dark side," he continued, "And remember those three murdered men we found three weeks ago? It was the same way we found Blood, or what was left of him anyway."

"Those three were members of the FOH, an anti-mutant group. I heard that Graydon Creed had a field day, protesting the existence of mutants. Now, he's adding metahumans and aliens to the list. After his FOH men got killed, he kept insisting that the city get rid of the Titans."

Shadow rubbed his temples, "Human prejudice…sometimes I'm glad I'm not human. To Creed, a freak is a freak, no matter if they're good or evil." Shadow sighed, "Thankfully, there was a city wide protest against him, and an even bigger one after his 'FOH Pride March'." Shadow hissed. "I hated acting as security for a bigot like that."

"We all did, believe me," Raven placed a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. "And we'll find Ryuki…"

Shadow smiled, but thought in doubt, 'Let's just hope when we find him, he's still Ryuki.'

Robin was in his office, going over whatever clues they had on Ryuki's whereabouts. It seemed impossible, but it seemed that the Knight of Combustion had disappeared from the face of the Earth. Rabin hated this, since he had the same experience before…When he was younger, he had foolishly gotten tricked by Harley and was knocked out. He was then taken to the Joker and tortured, both physically and mentally…when Batman and Batgirl came…he shuddered at the memory. The therapy sessions helped, and Batman had insisted that Robin hang up his cape. However, the Boy…Teen Wonder was defiant and went out on his own, moving out and away from Gotham and ending up here in Jump, starting the Titans in the process.

The door slid open. "Robin?" a gentle voice spoke. It was Koriand'r, Starfire. She walked over to him, "What troubles you?"

"Hey Kori," he smiled at her, "Nothing…nothing really…" he lied.

"Forgive me for not believing you, Timothy," she leaned her head on his shoulder as she hugged him from behind. "You can confess that you are deeply worried for our friend, Ryuki's, safety."

"I know…but not knowing what happened to him is the worse," he shuddered, "What if…what if he ends up…"

"Do not speak like that, Timothy!" she said sternly, "We will find him and we will bring him back." She moved from her place behind him and to his side. She tilted his head so he was facing her and she leaned down, pressing her lips to his. Robin's eyes closed as he kissed back, savoring the taste of his princess.

Beast Boy was in the kitchen with Terra, making them both tofu sandwiches. Terra had a worried look on her face.

"Do you think Draco's OK?" Terra asked her boyfriend.

"Yeah," Beast Boy assured her, "He can take care of himself."

"I know, but he's vulnerable right now," she said worriedly.

"I don't think that' vulnerable' would be the word I use to describe him," Beast Boy replied. The scene where those FOH guys got killed gave him nightmares. It was almost like something that could've happened if he ever lost control of 'the Beast Within', except for the victims turning to ashes. "I mean, he's an Orphenoch and by the looks of it, he can take care of himself." He recalled what they found of Blood and Rancid…Ryuki's doing

"I know, but what if he runs into," She shivered, "Slade?"

"I don't think Ryuki will join him, Ter."

"But, what if he does? His sister did."

Beast Boy had no answer for that. No matter how much he disagreed, there was still a possibility that Ryuki would join…he shook his head. He was not gonna let THAT happen, not again, not ever…

Pluto, Blackfire and Cyborg were in the garage. Cyborg was waxing his T-Car while Pluto was working on the ZX-Riders and Z-Riders. The Dog Knight's eyes rested on Draco's vehicles and he sighed heavily.

Draco's Jet Slinger and Dragchaser…the color and power reminded him of his young friend.

"Something wrong, Puppy?" Blackfire asked, as she helped him with his work, giving him the tools he required.

"Yeah…Ryuki," he admitted, "I mean, this is just like when he ran away the first time."

"You found him, didn't you?"

"We did, but without any clues, we don't even know where to start!"

"Relax dawg," Cyborg coaxed his friend, "We'll find him."

"I hope so, Vic," Pluto sighed, "I really, really, hope so."

(Night, Jump City Museum.)

It was night and the museum was closed. Standing in front of the museum was figure dressed completely in black, the darkness and shadows hiding his face. The outer security cameras had been frozen by ice, making them useless. The figure then turned his body into sand, slipping in through the cracks of the door.

Once inside, he reached into his belt and pulled out a gas bomb. He detonated it and smoke filled out all over the room. There was a red laser grid inside and tripping the beams would set off the alarms. The figure tilted his head to the side and then, amazingly, his body turned into sand again. The sand flew around on its own accord, avoiding the beams effortlessly, before ending up on the other side of the room and reforming into the figure. He walked over to one of the display cases and looked it over.

Within the case was a necklace with a green gem embedded in the centre, a golden chain extending from the stone. He flicked his wrist and 5 claws came out of his fingertips. He cautiously cut the glass and pulled out the circular piece. He then reached inside and pulled out the necklace.

The alarm went off…Crap.

(Titans Tower)

"Titans! Trouble!" Robin called out to the assembled teens. The location of the trouble: Jump City Museum.

(Back at the Museum)

The figure's head whirled about, trying to find a way out. Security guards armed with stun guns filled the room. The figure cocked his head.

One of the security guard shouted, "Freeze!"

The figure stepped forward, revealing a teenager with messy red hair, pulled into a ponytail and wearing a black suit with red gloves and boots. On his chest was Slade's emblem inside a metal hexagon and extending from the 4 corners of the hexagon were metal cables that met in the centre of his back. On his face was a half black and half red mask. The black half was frowning while the red half was smiling. He was wearing a utility belt with Slade's emblem on the buckle.

In an ironic twist, the figure just waved his hand and the security guard was encased in ice, frozen. The others began shooting, but they all met the same fate as the figure shot ice beams that froze the guards solid. As he was about to leave, a bola flew out of nowhere and wrapped around the figure. He looked up and saw…them

"Sorry, but the museum's closed," said Robin. The thief snapped the bola off him and made a run for it.

"Titans! Go!" Robin ordered and all 10 Titans went on the attack. Robin took out his Bo-staff and swung it out at the thief. However, the thief leapt over the boy wonder. Beast Boy lunged as a lion, but the figure disappeared out of his sight. Beast Boy then reverted to human form, crashing on top of Robin.

Starfire, Blacfire and Cyborg fired their attacks, but the figure was able to dodge them effortlessly. The brief flash illuminated the figures masked face. The figure fired out ice beams that hit both Starfire and Cyborg, freezing them solid in blocks of ice. Blackfire got knocked down and out by a roundhouse kick.

"You ain't getting pass me!" Pluto said defiantly, drawing out his sword. Pluto swung down, but the thief put up an ice shield, blocking the slashes. He then, with effortless manipulation, turned the shield into spikes that flew at Pluto. Pluto blocked and sliced the spikes with his sword. "You still ain't going pass me!" However, the thief did get pass him and Pluto ended up stuck to the floor, courtesy of a thick layer of ice.

His next obstacles were Raven and Shadow, floating in the air. They blasted him with dark energy, but he dodged. He attacked them, knocking Raven out with a drop kick to her head and then punching Shadow in the face. He then sent out a telekinetic blast that sent both Raven and Shadow crashing into another display case.

Shadow got up and threw several shadow shurikens, but the figure generated a psychic shield that stopped them in mid-flight. Hissing, Shadow produced a solidified shadow staff and ran at his opponent.

The thief held out his hand and solidified a fire staff. The staffs made contact, crashing into each other, sending sparks flying. The thief then jabbed Shadow in the chest before jumping out a kicking at the Vampangel's back, and then following up with a flip kick that knocked Shadow over.

The figure was almost at the exit, but was stopped by Jinx and Terra. He didn't move; he stopped.

"Drop the necklace and nobody gets hurt!" Jinx said, eyes glowing pink. Terra's eyes glowed yellow as she gripped her fists, several rocks floating around her. The figure nodded and the ground began to shake, causing both girls to fall. He leapt over them, but Jinx grabbed his foot, causing him to fall. His mask fell off as well.

"Not so fast!" she hissed, bringing up a hex ball when she froze. The thief had turned to look at her and she gasped, shocked.

"Ryuki…?"

Staring back at her was Ryuki, her Ryuki!

Jinx did not know what to do…so she let go of his leg. Ryuki picked up his mask and turned to face them.

"Guys, I think we have a problem," Jinx said fearfully.

Ryuki immediately shifted into the Ifrit Orphenoch and went on the attack, claws out and ready to reduce the Titans to ashes.

"Not this time," Shadow took out his Zodiac Deck as Pluto did the same. They transformed in unison.

"ZODIAC FORCE OF THE SNAKE/DOG!"

Both Zodiac Knights of the Snake and Dog ran at their former friend and drew out their weapons. Shadow swung down with his staff but the Ifrit Orphencoch ducked before ramming Shadow in the chest with a head butt. Pluto tried his luck with his sword, but the Ifrit's Orphenoch hide was too thick and then the Orphenoch slashed Pluto away with a swipe of his claws. Robin was about to order the others to attack, until Shadow shouted, "Don't! He's an Orphenoch now and what he did to his other victims, he may do to you!"

Robin was about to retort but then stopped. Would Ryuki do that? There was no definite answer.

The Ifrit Orphenoch roared and fired blue flames and ice at the two Zodiac Knights. Pluto and Shadow rolled out of the way. Pluto shouted, "Ryuki! Why are you doing this? We're your friends!" However, the Ifrit Orphenoch didn't answer, but instead changed into his hybrid form, his legs becoming double jointed and he leapt forward and tackled Pluto to the ground. Pluto threw his opponent off with a jolt of electricity and then started throwing the Ifrit Orphenoch around with his levitation powers. The Ifrit Orphenoch was dropped to the floor before Pluto changed his arms into missile launchers. Shadow drew out his SNK-Phone and flipped it into blaster mode. Both Knights aimed their weapons and prepared to shoot.

Jinx shouted, "No!"

Pluto froze and so did Shadow. The Ifrit Orphenoch froze and stared at her before turning back to his human form, Ryuki, and then teleporting away with his loot.

Beast Boy asked, "What just happened?" No one had an answer to that.

It took awhile for the feeling to sink in. They were not just defeated by anyone, it was Ryuki…They had him outnumbered and he still beat them. That wasn't the worst part as it would seem Ryuki had joined Slade…

Robin muttered, "This isn't good."

No, ya think?

(Slade's lair…not mansion. Don't get the two confused)

Ryuki reappeared in front of Slade, who was sitting in one of his makeshift thrones.

"Was your mission a success?" Slade asked. Ryuki walked towards Slade and handed him the necklace. "Excellent…were there any complications?" Ryuki nodded. "The Titans?" Ryuki nodded again, "And…did you…deal with them?' When Slade meant 'deal with them' he meant if Ryuki had killed them. Slade sighed when he received a shake. "I see…pity." Slade placed the necklace down, "Ifrit, when I decided to take you in as my apprentice and train you, I was hoping that you'd be able to take care of the Titans for me. What happened?"

Ryuki…Ifrit removed his mask, a lethargic expression on his face, "I just…couldn't do it," he answered.

"You must remember, my boy, that the Titans are no longer your friends. Remember, they even acted as security for that Creed fellow…that anti-mutant bigot," Slade reminded, "He even condemned metahumans and aliens…would you be friends with people who associated with that kind of person?"

"…" Ifrit answered, "No."

Slade leaned over, "Remember, my apprentice, that you've chosen a new life, a life where you don't have to hide or deny what or who you are…" Slade leaned back in his throne." He continued, "Having second thoughts?" Ifrit put his mask back on and shook his head. "Good, now rest, you have a big day tomorrow." Ifrit bowed and teleported away.

"Are you sure this is wise, Slade-sama?" said Kat as she stepped out from behind his throne. She had heard everything.

"I thought you of all people would be glad that your brother has come over to our side," Slade replied, "Are you having second thoughts?"

"No…maybe…a little," she stuttered, "…" She continued, "I mean, by nature, my brother has a hero complex, plus he still cares for his friends. Getting him to eliminate the Titans may not be so easy…"

"Oh, I think it will," he said sinisterly, "Trust me, it will."

Ryuki lay in bed in his quarters. He took off his mask and sighed heavily. He had gone against his friend and, no matter how much he disliked it, a small part of him…enjoyed the thrill. He tried to contact his spirit guardian, but only got silence…

Since he had taken Slade's offer, he no longer heard Yaminekoryu's voice. The only other voice was…

"Something wrong?"

The Ifrit Orphenoch's. Ryuki looked up and stared at the full view mirror and staring back at him was the Ifrit Orphenoch. Ryuki answered, "Yes…"

"Isn't this what you want?" the Ifrit Orphenoch asked, "Power…freedom?"

"But hurting my friends…"

"You don't need them," the Ifrit Orphenoch interrupted, "You're better off without them; they'll never understand…"

"But…"

"You killed 5 men…and fought against your friends. No matter what, you're a murderer and a traitor…"

Ryuki turned away. No matter what he said, the Ifrit Orphenoch was right. He then said, "What about Jinx…?"

"You want her? Take her…Do it now!"

"How?"

"By any means necessary…" The Ifrit Orohenoch growled, before disappearing from the reflection.

"By any means…necessary?" Ryuki questioned and then he had a headache before everything went black.

To Be Continued…