Okay, next chapter...lots of explanations, sorry if it gets really boring.

Disclaimer: I don't own TT

Recap

"Hey Rob. It's been a while," greeted an older Cyborg gravely. He did not sound happy.

"Cyborg?" Robin uttered in amazement. Cyborg was definitely older, but looked around twenty-five. Raven was also there, in a white cloak, staring even more emotionlessly at him than usual. Beast Boy stood next to her, nervously shifting his weight from one side to the other. He was no longer scrawny, but his green face still had a boyish look to it. Raven placed a hand on his shoulder, and he stood stock-still. "Raven? Beast Boy?"

"Hey Robin. How ya been?" asked Beast Boy in a much higher voice than he was supposed to have. "It's Changeling now, but Cy still calls me BB." He shrugged, and Robin discarded the useless information.

"Where's Starfire?" asked Robin tentatively. He had a feeling about the answer, but was far from prepared when he heard Raven state it.

"Starfire's been dead for six years."

Nightwing burst into the infirmary, much to the surprise of Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. He'd changed into his (now extremely tight) old superhero uniform, unable to be sure if Starfire would recognize him otherwise. His hair hadn't grown out that much, so he'd spiked it with little difficulty. All in all, he looked six years younger. He hated how he'd looked six years ago, but it had to be done. The Nightwing costume definitely better fit his personality after Starfire...

"Uh, Robin? I thought you weren't--" Beast Boy started. Nightwing shook his head and cut him off, counting down in his head.

"Leave. Right now. It's important," he ordered crisply. The three scurried off, scared of their new, and somehow much taller leader.

Five...four...three...two...one...

Starfire opened her eyes, and Nightwing's breath was taken away. It'd been so long since he'd seen her...

She saw him and started to sob. "Robin, there is something wrong with me. I am...afraid. Robin, why did you run from me? Do you find me repulsive? Do you think I am a mistake as well?" Nightwing forced a smile and sat in a chair next to her, cupping her cheek.

"Of course not, Star. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I just couldn't see you hurt, that's all." Starfire's sobs quieted a little bit, her hand coming up to lay atop Nightwing's. He really smiled this time, leaning forward and pecking her on the cheek. "We all care about you, Star. That's why Rae and Cy and BB have gone nearly sleepless since that fight with Slade. So have I."

"So I have caused you discomfort. I am a mistake. I do not belong on this world, nor on any other," she muttered somberly.

"No. I don't ever want you to think that again. You belong here as much as the rest of us. Which is why you need to stop what you're doing."

"D-dead?" Robin stuttered, his knees going weak. His three friends nodded, eyeing him. He gulped and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. "Dead," he clarified. They nodded again. "B-but how? You three stopped her whenever she tried anything!"

Cyborg looked away. "We thought we did. But we were tired, Rob, and we overlooked a small factor."

"What?" he asked, still believing they were all playing a joke and Starfire would jump out from around the corner.

"Food. She hid her meals when she knew we had our backs turned. She never ate anything. After she fell asleep, she woke up once. One last time," Changeling whispered. Robin gaped, the understanding finally hitting him. Tamaranians were different from humans. They couldn't go that long without food...he didn't know what else to say, so he shut his mouth. Changeling continued. "So you went kinda crazy, and who could blame you? But you remember Warp, right? He had that time portal thingy. And you made Cyborg work on one of those. It took him six years to figure all the calculations and stuff, but he did it. So now Nightwing's back in your time and you're in ours." The changeling shrugged.

"It can't be," Robin breathed. "If I'm here, then Nightwing would be gone."

Cyborg shook his head. "Nah. It's simple, really. From-the-future transportation is pretty basic in time travel, and there needs to be one of you in the past at all times for you to exist in the future. The only problem was building something to get you in the past. But we did it. And now you're here."

There was an uncomfortable silence, while Robin digested all of this. Was it just him, or was everything a whole lot darker? Maybe it always had been, and he hadn't noticed, because Starfire had always been there.

And that was when he finally broke down.

"Stop what?" whispered Starfire, a hint of defiance in her voice. Nightwing reached down under her bed, pulling out a day old toast with mustard on it. Starfire stared emotionlessly at it.

"Stop this." He placed it on the bare nightstand next to her bed and gazed at her. "Well?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have anything to say for yourself? Are you trying to leave me, Star? Is that it? Don't you love me like I love you?" Starfire wrung her hands weakly, biting her lip.

"Yes. Much, much more."

"Then why?"

She started to sob again. "I do not know. I cannot help it! It is uncontrollable, Robin, you do not understand!" Nightwing climbed beside her and held her close, stroking her hair while she cried into his shoulder.

"I do know, Star. And it's perfectly controllable. You need to fight it. You can't give in." He brushed his lips against her forehead. "I know you won't give up on me, Star."

Starfire cuddled into his chest, and then pulled away, suddenly realizing that something was wrong. "You are not Robin. Who are you?" she snarled, trying to get away. Nightwing gulped, wondering how she knew in her state. He shouldn't have overlooked anything. That's what had killed her in the first place.

"Hey, hey, I am Robin! Well...not your Robin, I guess." Starfire scrunched her nose up cutely in confusion. "Listen, Star...I'm from the future. In the future...you're supposed to die in less than twenty-four hours. I came back..."

Starfire stared at him, not so confused anymore. "So I am supposed to die. It is very simple now."

"No!" Nightwing cried in horror. "Starfire, do you think I came back here to watch you die again? I can't live without you, Star, the only reason I did was because I knew I was coming back to try and save you. Please, Star, don't do this to me again. I can't go through that again."

"Robin..." she murmured, allowing him to embrace her again. "You love me?"

"More than anything, Star."

"...Then perhaps I can...try."

Nightwing smiled. "That's all I'm asking for."

Robin stood, shaking, in front of the door labeled 'STARFIRE'. Taking a deep breath, he opened it, and then almost wished he hadn't.

Her room was the same as before, bright and cheery, with stuffed animals everywhere. But now, everything was faded and covered in a thick layer of dust. Obviously, the other Titans hadn't really wanted to come in here.

The bed, however, was completely clean, and wrinkled. Someone had been there. A discarded mask near the foot of the bed told him it had been...well, him. His older self, Nightwing, was probably here a lot. Robin crawled on to the bed, grabbing a dustless pillow and burying his face in it. It still smelled like Starfire, even after this long. A lump rose in his throat, and he fought it down.

A faint mewling came from the other side of the room, and Robin sat up with a start. A wrinkly, animal-ish head appeared from under a mass of blankets. It was Silkie. Robin used to find the worm repulsive, but honestly couldn't be happier to see it now. He held out his arms to it and it slid on to his lap, gurgling sadly. Silkie looked much, much older now, and it didn't seem like the worm would live much longer. Under Starfire's loving care it might have, but...

"You miss her, too, huh?" Robin asked quietly. Another miserable gurgle. "It's my fault, you know. I could've saved her, but I didn't. I was being stupid, as usual." Silkie slid away from him. "Yeah, alright. I deserve to be alone."

"Robin?" asked a familiar female voice from the doorway. Robin's head jerked up, and he forced a smile when he saw Raven. She glided into the room, her white cloak billowing around her.

"Hi."

"You don't have to pretend to be okay. I know you're not," Raven stated bluntly. Robin shrugged.

"It's second nature. How's the rest of the team...dealing?" He glanced to Raven's hand, a flash of gold catching his eye. "You're married."

"It was private. Changeling and I knew it'd break Nightwing's heart, so we didn't invite anyone except Cyborg and Bee. We just turned up the next day wearing the rings, and Nightwing didn't acknowledge it."

"You and BB? Didn't see that coming." Raven looked around the room.

"Nightwing came here a lot. He'd just sit for hours, probably reminiscing. It was pathetic." Robin winced. "But I can't blame him. You, I mean. You always used to make everything your fault."

"It usually was."

"True. The Titans are dealing, better than you were, anyway. We made a promise to stick together, no matter what, and we are. Nightwing, though...he just wants to leave. He hates this place, now."

Robin nodded in understanding. He could definitely see where that was coming from.

"Raven? What exactly happened to...her?" Robin asked tentatively, his throat closing up again. Raven sighed.

"From what we could figure out, Slade was experimenting with xenothium. You know how dangerous it was already. Anyway, it's supposed to cause a chemical imbalance in the brain, similar to that of clinical depression, but much, much worse. See, for a human, it basically tells the brain to stop working, like there's no point in doing so anymore. Human emotions would barely be affected. You'd be dead long before that. Tamaranians are quite a bit stronger, so Starfire's body was able to fight it off a little bit. But like I said, clinical depression. It doesn't mix well with Tamaranians. That's why Starfire was suicidal."

Robin would've let out a low whistle if he hadn't been burning with anger at Slade. "Where is he? I don't care if I get arrested, I'll ki--"

"Dead. Slade died not long after Starfire. After-effects of the experimenting." Robin's fury died down, and he was left with a considerably larger hole in his heart than before this conversation. No Slade, no Starfire. What was the meaning of his life anymore? "Nightwing was lost after we heard about Slade's death, too. He didn't know what to do with himself anymore. It's been pretty bad, Robin," Raven said softly. He knew the implied meaning. It wouldn't be, if you'd worked up the guts to tell her how you felt in the first place. Raven got up. "You can take Nightwing's room. There's no telling how long you'll be here." Robin's eyes widened in alarm.

"What? But I want to go back! I can save her without Nightwing's help! Cyborg can get me back there, right?"

Raven shook her head sadly. "Nightwing's got the time portal, and Cyborg can't just make a new one. We were trying to send Nightwing back to before the battle with Slade, but I'm guessing it didn't turn out that way. Time travel isn't an explored branch of science, Robin. It's completely unpredictable. We can't do a thing about it."

Uhhmmm...yep...wow, SO considering giving up this story right now, it's starting to sound pretty bad...the sequel to Y.A.H.S.S.'ll probably be up way before Christmas if I do.