STARFIRE

Chapter 9

To Shira, the sound of that name pretty much pierced her mind and wouldn't allow her to think straight. Just the sound of it.

"BlackFire? You're sure that's what it was?" Diego says standing up.

"You know of it?" Shira asks, still lying down.

"Not really. No one actually knows what it is." Diego responded.

"Ya, I was pretty sure it didn't even exist. But you, apparently, showed me otherwise." StarFire steps in, "That wasn't a normal occurrence. Similar, Yes. But not normal. When I went in, not as much damage was given to me as was to you."

"That doesn't make much sense at all." Shira says.

"Ya, that's basically what I'm getting at."

Shira looks at Diego, giving him a concerned look.

"Well, apart from that, I've recently noticed that the Epsilon forest is not only getting more and more cursed, but it is spreading progressively at an incredible speed as well." StarFire said.

"That's bad, right?" Diego said playing stupidly.

"Only if you want to retain our existence as living creatures in this world. Of course it's bad!"He says seemingly to be loosing patience, "In fact, I sent an old friend of mine many weeks ago in search of the cause of that curse. A curse so powerful, it has actually wiped out most of your race's existence. And I haven't seen him since."

"Let me get this straight," Diego starts. "You sent someone else to do your work for you, to a diseased forest, and he's disappeared. Maybe captured. Maybe even being tortured as we speak!" He says going up to StarFire.

"Well, I wouldn't jump to any conclusions, I -"

"I bet you wouldn't." Diego cuts him off, "Let me tell you something, Star boy. Theirs a time for thought, and theirs a time for action, and this is one of those times!"

"...Which?" StarFire asks.

"The second one." Diego answers.

StarFire sighs, "Perhaps you're right. It might be best if we move a little farther away from this forest. As far as I know, it hasn't been doing any of us any good."

"Say we were going to leave," Shira steps in, "Where on earth would we go?"

"We need to have a heading, or something." Diego adds.

"And their in lies the problem. Where ever we go, if it's on this island, we'd be doomed from the start. We always were."

"So, you don't-"

"Be that as it may," StarFire interrupts Shira, "I, as always have a plan."

"We should all be so lucky." Diego says sarcastically.

"Yes, well," StarFire says as he pulls out a leather cloth from his leather uniform and spreads it out on the ground, "This is what the creature that attacked you looked like, or at least the way I see it. Who knows, it might have the ability to change forms depending on who it's targeting. One things for sure, It needs to be killed."

"And I'm assuming you think that your the one who's gonna pull off the job?" Diego says looking up at him.

"Yes, I'm afraid I do."

"By yourself? It's too dangerous. It's not possible" Shira says.

"But that's what I'm best at. Making the Impossible Possible."

At that point, Shira gave up reasoning with him,so she goes back to sit down in a corner with Diego following her. He lays down against her to comfort her.

As the day drove to an end, StarFire was still thinking about how to solve this matter. Suddenly, a voice was heard in his head.

"It is not sacrifice. It is evolution."

"Live together. Together."

"Live as one."

'Those voices. Where have I heard them before?' StarFire thinks as he looks at the two sabers falling asleep by the fire. 'They need a real life. Fighting for their survival. That's crazy! No one should be forced to live that way.'

He turns his attention back on the sketch of BlackFire. 'Soon. Very soon, somewhere, somehow, I'll have you. Your mine for the taking.' He thinks as he pierces the leather cloth with his wooden dagger, and throws it in the fire, leaving it to burn. That's when it hit him.

'Fire! Of course!' He was about to wake the sabers up. But a single problem ran through his mind, 'This is Shira's home. Sure, she said she hated it and never wanted to go back, but it's home after all. I can't do it without her say so.'

The common fear of the answer 'No' ran through StarFire's body.

'What if she says no? Then I'll have to think of something else. But... She'd understand. Her of all creatures would surely understand why I have to do it.'

He sighs, and gets up to wake up Shira and Diego.

"Hey. Wake up." He says nudging them on the shoulder. Diego woke up.

"What?" He asks.

"I have an idea."

"On where to go?" Diego asks again.

"Well, no. Actually on how to prevent the curse from spreading. What do you think destruction's weapon of choice is?" StarFire quizzes him.

"Is that a trick question or something?"

"Partially, Yes."

"Well, I don't know." He says starting to fall back to sleep.

"Fire."

Diego's eyes open and instantly got what StarFire's crazy idea was.

"Are you insane?!"

"I've gotten that a lot, so I'm gonna have to say yes."

"You can't be serious. I mean, it's Shira's home. Why are you asking me this?"

"Well, you happened to be the one who woke up." StarFire says truthfully.

Diego leans over and nuzzles Shira to wake her up. "Hey, Shira. Wake up. Come on. Wake up."

Shira finally wakes up, "Is something wrong?"

"Actually, yes. StarFire's planning on burning the forest down." Diego answers.

Shira's eyes widen.

"You didn't have to put it into those words. " StarFire says with his head down.

"Why?! Why would you do that?! I thought you were the good guy!" Shira yells at him.

"This is what I was afraid of." StarFire sighs, "Look, you said you hated that place. You never wanted to go back there again."

"Yes but..." Shira starts.

"What is it?" Diego asks leaning into her.

"It's just... Krystal... her body, still in there, probably." she begins, tears forming in her eyes, as she remembers that still unforgettable night, "And if you burn the forest-

"I understand" StarFire finishes for her, "And if you feel the same, you'd understand why I have no choice. I have to burn the forest."

"Theirs got to be another way." Diego steps in again.

"I'm not taking a greater risk than is already being done" StarFire says back.

"Shira, I-"

"Burn it. All of it." Shira interrupts StarFire.

"Look, I don't want you to feel as though your being forced to agree to this." StarFire tells her.

"No. She'd understand. That's why we were such good friends. We understood each other. And she'd completely understand why the forest must be burnt down." Shira says, cuddling into Diego's warm body.

StarFire nods, and gets up to leave the cave.

"Should I even ask?" Diego says smirking at him.

"I'm just taking a walk. I need some fresh air."

"Alright, see you in the morning then?" Shira asks.

"We'll see." StarFire says as he leaves the cave.

Diego sighs and leans even closer into Shira, "What is this, a daily routine?"

"What do you mean?" Shira asks.

"It's pretty much the same thing every day. He goes out in the middle of the night. Usually never telling us we're he's going. And he's back the next morning."

"What's wrong with that?" Shira asks. "I think he's just trying to respect our privacy."

"Ya, that, or he's hiding something." Diego lets out.

"You can't possibly think that." Shira lifts her head to look at him.

"How can I not? If you were going out somewhere every night without telling me, I'd be a little concerned, wouldn't you think?" Diego asks her. Shira doesn't answer. She leans back into Diego's chest and starts licking him. Diego does the same to her forehead. It stayed that way for the rest of the night, until Shira spoke up.

"Will things ever be perfect?"

"What do you mean?" Diego asks.

"I mean, stuff keeps getting in the way. No day is ever completely perfect. There's always something there to ruin it."

"Maybe it's like that for a reason."

"Maybe."

Hearing him say that washed the depression that was enveloping Shira for those brief minutes of her life away.

"I guess I can honestly say, I'm completely happy the way my life turned out. I'm just praying that it stays this way." Shira says.

"Shira, I promise to make your life meaningful. I'll never let anything happen to you. I know I let you down yesterday in the forest, and I'm sorry for that. I'm just completely thankful that your memory wasn't erased, if what StarFire said was true."

"You really don't trust that guy, do you?" Shira asks with a smirk on her face.

"Not completely, no." Diego answers her.

"He's just trying to help. That's all he's trying to do. He's just trying to help. And he has."

"I know he has. I just don't know if there's a meaning behind it." Diego admits.

"Sure there is." Shira says, nuzzling him affectionately.

"What ever you say." Diego says as he starts to purr.

"Sofite."

"Kitty."

"I'll never get tired of that." Diego jokes.

The two sabers gradually drift into sleep until foot steps came running towards the cave.

StarFire steps inside, "We have to go, now!"