[Conclusion]
[Solor's Universe - 6 Months Later]
The Light Heir paced slowly outside of the med bay, his worry evident. After months and months of waiting, he was finally going to be meeting his baby girl. But first, Kreinyol had to go through the "wonder" that is known as child birth.
Every time he heard her scream, he wanted to break the doors down, but Edward had ordered Raven AND Rachael to keep watch, and make sure he doesn't intrude.
Of course, Edward was still the only one qualified to help with a delivery. Cyborg and Victor were both supervising, acting as nurses should something go wrong, but so far, nothing out of the ordinary occurred, and Solor knew the little girl didn't have spines on her back, so he knew there wouldn't be a complication like that.
But, the labor itself was long and painful for Kreinyol to the point that Edward placed his hand under her neck, saying, "I'm going to intercept the worst of the pain signals as long as I can, Star. But, you're doing well."
"Easy for you to say," she groused, "You are not the one doing all the work."
Edward's face contorted for a moment as another contraction hit. It took a few long moments before the contraction faded.
"Alice?" he asked, "How far along is she?"
Alice replied, "Still has a way to go. She needs to be dilated to 10 CM and is only at 7."
Edward frowned, "Damn, I wish I knew more Tamaranian biology."
"Don't look at us, dawg," Victor said, "Starfire wasn't always forthcoming."
"Just monitor her vitals and the baby," Edward said, "Alice and Ralph, you guys do the same, and tell me if there's any change." Both AIs were tag-teaming as well, Ralph having the advantage for some reason.
"Let the guys know...it's going to be a while longer," Edward said as he knew Solor would be concerned.
Alice relayed the message and Solor's reply in the Dragon Tongue...not fit for young hatchling's ears.
"I should be with her", he told Raven. "Let me be with her!"
Raven shook her head. "In your emotional state, you'd be more of a hinderance than aid."
Solor put both hands on the back of his head, groaning a bit. "Ugh, this is agony! Pure agony! Probably nothing like what Sunfire is going through, but still!"
Hours passed, and finally the screaming stopped. Solor stood anxiously, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Not only was it suddenly really quiet, but he could smell something new, something different. Then he heard the newborn's cry, and nothing could stop him, as he made a mad dash for the med bay.
Nothing but Raven.
"Not yet, you idiot, she needs to recover!"
However, Rachael got the message Edward was sending, and smiled gently. "It's okay. Let him go. It'll be better if he goes; we don't need him trying to destroy a wall or anything."
Reluctantly, Raven let Solor go, as he quickly entered the medbay. There was Edward, holding the little bundle of pink blanket and baby. He held his hands out gently, holding the little girl tenderly. "Mind her head", Edward said to him.
"She's... she's beautiful", he said, holding the sleeping girl. Just like the prediction said, she had wings and a tail instead of legs, but she was still beautiful in his eyes. "Hey there, little one... welcome to the world."
Edward smiled, "That, she is. Congratulations, Solor! Far as I can tell, she's healthy. I did channel a little of my healing power, just enough to ease the trauma of being born, though. She's a fighter, though. 18 inches long, 8 pounds 7.5 ounces in weight."
"What do we feed her?" Solor asked.
"Same thing that we fed Cally," Edward replied, "She is basically the same type of hybrid as Cally is, so, she will need the higher proteins and other nutrients."
Sunfire piped up, "Husband, I love you dearly ... but, if you ever get me the pregnant again, may X'Hal have mercy."
Solor gulped, knowing that she meant every word of it. It had been a long 11 months and she was not about to go through that again. She had Soskrein and the new baby and she was happy with that.
"Have you two decided on a name for her?" Edward asked, "I need it for the notification to Lair."
Solor looked over to his wife. "This is your territory. I'll respect whatever you pick, Tamaranian or Dragon."
Starfire nodded. "Well... I thought long and hard about this. I love you, Husband, and I understand traditions, but perhaps we could compromise a bit." She smiled sadly now. "And... while I know she will never find respect in this... but I still love my dearest sister. So... I would like to call her Komi Krein Barnes... if Brother Edward does not mind."
Edward's jaw dropped, "I-I-I would be honored, Starfire of Tamaran. And, I hope Blackfire would at least be touched."
[What's going on, sweetheart?] Rachael asked, [Your emotions ... I've never felt this one.]
[You'll find out,] Edward replied.
Solor nodded, smiling. "Komi... it sounds beautiful." He sat next to his wife, still holding the baby. "I will protect you both", he whispered softly, tears in his eyes. "You are my world..."
Sunfire frowned, reaching over. "Husband? What is wrong?"
Solor realized his emotions were showing, and quickly clamped up on the tears. "Sorry... she is so beautiful..."
Raven and Rachael came in next. "Hope we're not intruding", Raven said in her monotone.
"Of course not", Solor said, giving Sunfire his child. "Come meet Komi Krein Barnes, the newest addition to our family."
Rachael couldn't help but smile, and walked over, gently holding her husband's hand. "It sounds like a great name."
Raven, however, sent a message to both of them. [Something is wrong. Solor is extremely happy and proud, like any normal father... but I feel remorse as well. It was a twinge, but it was definitely there.]
Edward silently agreed. [I felt it, too. Maybe it has something to do with what the Dark Dragon told him? I hate being in the dark... pun not intended.]
Rachael calmed the both of them. [Solor knows what he's doing. Neither of you should bug him about it.] She then approached the little hybrid girl, smiling down at her. "She is a beauty... she'll be kind and strong, just like the two of you."
"I can only teach her what I know", Solor commented. "I hope that, with the knowledge I am willing to share, that she does great things." He got up, kissing his wife gently. "I will contact Sol, and let him know he's a grandfather again. Then I shall bring Susie, so she can meet her little sister."
And with that, Solor left the room, allowing Sunfire to rest with her little bumgorf as Edward continued keeping an eye on the monitors, making sure Sunfire would be alright.
The prophecy obviously has nothing to do with Sunfire's health, the older dragon decided. But this is all starting to get fishy... he's been very anxious about Komi's birth... what is he hiding?
XxXxX
Edward smiled hearing that Sol was quite pleased with the news that he was a grandfather again.
Yet, Edward was getting concerned. Since the tournament, Solor had been acting different. He had trained Mally a lot since then.
Mally had earned a position as babysitter for both Edward's family and Solor's family. That made the Life dragon happier than she had been in a long time.
And, it took a while, but, Mally had realized that she had to get her crush on Edward under control once and for all. They were both Heirs and there would be plenty of time for her to land Edward as a mate. So, she worked on her emotional attachment to the much older Dragon. Rath was a big help in that area as she felt that she needed to make it up to the Commander. At the time, Edward said, "Rath, there's nothing to feel guilty about. I'm not holding a grudge against either you or Mally. I would rather consider you a friend than an enemy."
It actually put Edward's mind as ease as his mate and her twin reported that her feelings were under control.
It helped that Edward told Grand Life of his concerns that she was showing all the signs of her hormones kicking in early and Life agreed to help her daughter cope with the changes. And, Edward had a good 50-60 years before Rachael could pass on, despite what Batman had told him.
But, while the newest hybrid was sleeping in her mother's arms about three months later, Solor knew he had to videotape a good-bye message.
He got a chair and set it up in his and Kreinyol's quarters. She was out in the Ops area with the baby and he knew she would gone long enough.
"Alice, I need to make a video recording, please," Solor said, "It needs to be encrypted until the time is right."
"All right," Alice said.
Solor sighed as he sat in his chair. "Alice, am I being recorded now?"
"Yes, Solor, you are. You can say whatever is needed now."
"Thank you", Solor said softly. "And remember, when you finish, you have to encrypt it. Make sure no one sees this until the time is right."
"Understood... sir."
With that, Solor looked to the camera, a small smile fading from his face. "To my fellow Teen Titans, Members of the Circle, my brother and his Titans... to my wife, Kreinyol, my baby girl, Soskrein, and whoever else is present at the time of this being played... when you see this recording, I will no longer be in Jump City. I will no longer be able to be detected through technological or magical means. And neither will my daughter, Komi Barnes.
"I regret to inform you guys that... my time with the Titans has to be interrupted. I cannot go into detail about this, but it is for the betterment of the future that I must leave, with no specific destination in mind, and take my youngest child with me." Solor could feel tears running down his face, and sniffled a bit. "I hate it... I truly do. But I have no choice.
"To Robin and Nightwing... leaders of the Titans... I must thank you for yours and the rest of the teams' help. My anger was my worst enemy in my darkest times. I slowly learned not only what it is to be humble because of you... but what it is to have friends, to be human. To Raven and Rachael... I thank you for giving me the techniques I needed to master my rage.
"To Terra and Beast Boy... I am sorry I'm not there to be the minister. I would have loved to, you know I would. It would have been one of the happiest days of my long life... but, do not wait for me to come back. Because I don't know if I will return in time. I could be gone for one year, five, ten, or even a hundred years. So do not wait. Make your vows to one another, with my blessing, and live the life you two were meant to have.
"To Victor and Cyborg... I thank you for helping me find my sense of humor." He let out a humorless chuckle. "If it weren't for you both, I would never have found the humor I have now. Not only in the kind spirited pranks, but in the teasing comments and slight gestures. I am glad to have known two men with hearts as big as yours.
"Finally, to my family... Father, Sahqokrein, Kiinnum, Callisto, Yolstav... Kreinyol and Soskrein..." At that, the image of Solor broke down, tears freely running down his face. "I love you. All of you. Thank you... for teaching me what it means to forgive and accept. To let go of the past, and strive for a better future. I love you all, and I pray that Komi will grow to be the kind of people you all are. I wish I could keep in contact... I truly do. One day, I will return. I promise you that.
"But... this message has gone on long enough. I have said everything to you, my friends, my family. I can only pray... that one day, I may be forgiven for what I have to do." Solor got up from his chair, sniffling a bit before turning to face the computer. "You can end the recording, Alice."
"Yes, sir... and Solor? I will miss you, too."
Solor gave the camera one final, sad smile, before the recording cut short, turning into a pitch black screen.
Time had passed since Komi was born. Five months, to be exact. And now, the Titans had awoken to discover that the Heir to the Light had gone AWOL, vanishing without a single trace. What was worse, the five month old toddler had also disappeared. After frantically looking all over the tower for a hint, a desperate Kreinyol had contacted Edward, praying that he was over in that Universe.
Judging by Edward's stunned reaction, the Light dragon had not crossed over to his world.
After Edward and his Titans popped over, Alice finally piped up, saying she had a message from Solor himself, explaining his disappearance, but the recording left the team with a lot more questions than answers. And his tear-filled goodbye only left the mood somber and quiet, with everyone hoping, praying that this was some elaborate prank that they could get mad at him for. But it wasn't too long before they realized that this was all true, all really happening.
Solor was gone.
Edward snarled angrily, "That low down son of a ..." He remembered that the kids were there and got a hold on the profanities he wanted to say.
"Uncle?" Susie asked, eyes wide.
Edward sat back down and took a calming breath.
"It'll be OK, Susie," he said, "We'll find Daddy, even if I have to time teleport back and find out what in the world is going on.
"I know you're worried. I am too."
"Can you stay?" was all she asked.
"I'm staying," Edward said, "A godfather takes care of his godchildren, Susie. It's also one of the duties handed down from the First that an uncle is to take care of his brother's offspring."
"Then, I am staying too," Rachael said.
"What about the team?" Nightwing wondered. It was the wrong thing to say.
"The team?" Edward snorted, "I have my sworn duty to these children, Nightwing. That comes first. I'm sorry, but, with Solor missing, I have to step up and take care of Susie as well as Cally and Yolstav. I can't uproot Susie. Callisto loves it here and this is Yolstav's first home."
"I'll go," Raven said, "It will keep Nightwing's Titans together."
Edward shook his head, "We need to discuss this as a family. Both teams and Sol."
He paled, "How in the heck do I tell him?"
He went to the communications board and punching a few buttons called Lair.
Sol appeared on the viewscreen and saw the look on Edward's face.
"Son?" he said, "What is wrong?"
"Filkiin has disappeared, Father," Edward said, "He's taken the baby with him. He's not in Lair, is he?"
"I'm afraid not, Kiinnum," Sol said, "And, before you ask, we don't know where he's gone, either. He made no comment about his intent to leave."
Sunfire sniffed a bit, wiping her eye. "At... at least Komi is with him. At least she is safe..." She was slowly regaining composure, which was surprising, seeing her husband and baby were both missing. "Then... everything will be the alright."
"Alright?! How can you say that?!" Robin asked, furious. "One of our own has just up and left, and kidnapped a baby as well!"
"That 'napper of kids'," Sunfire said coldly, glaring at her leader, "is still my husband. He told me that dragons mate for life. I am going to be faithful to him, as he would to me. For I know Komi will be safe with him, will be raised in a way I would approve. I will miss him, I will be angry, and I will want to know why, but I trust him, as a loving wife should."
"Sunfire", Edward said, obviously upset, "I think this is going too far. He left without saying anything about where he's going, he left you and Susie behind... I don't think everything is going to be okay." He snarled a bit again. "I think he just fed me that 'dragons mate for life' crap without believing it..."
"Now you listen here!" Sol yelled through the communicator, gaining everyone's attention. "My Heir may have messed up a lot in his life, but one thing he would never do is leave without a reason! If you so much as insinuate that Solor has abandoned us for good, immortal or not, you are getting the lecture of a lifetime! You are not the only one who can go on long winded speeches, son!" At that, Sol took a deep breath to calm down, glaring a bit. "Dragons do mate for life, Edward... so no matter where Solor goes, he will always be faithful to Kreinyol. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a picture to remember her with, taken from a frame or otherwise."
"What about the position of Heir?" Edward asked. "What do we do about that?"
"He's not dead", Sol responded, "So I can wait two hundred years before I will be forced to select another one. Hopefully, we can find him before then. I have to go and tell the Circle, though. I cannot send dragons to search for him without their consent. Hopefully we can pick up on his trail." With that, the communicator went dark.
"What about communicators?" Robin asked Cyborg.
"Offline", the metal man replied sadly. "He must have figured out how to take out the battery, because not even the tracking device I put in all of them is responding. With how fast he flies, he could be halfway to China by now."
Beast Boy was silent through all of this, hit hard by the news.
Raven growled a bit, and stood up. "Well, sitting here isn't going to help. We should start looking, see if anyone has seen him."
"Agreed", Terra said seriously. "The sooner we find him, the sooner we can kick his butt for making us worry."
"Take a number," Edward said, "I think Kreinyol here has dibs."
"Indeed I do", Sunfire replied. "My priority, until my family has been located, is taking care of Susie and searching for my family. If missions become too much for me to handle in years to come, though... I may have to temporarily decline from going on missions until they are found."
"Understood", Robin said. "Though this may very well mean the end of the Titans as a unit... we'll have to search the entire globe. Given that Solor can shift his human form to whatever he wants, and no doubt he has tricks to disguise Komi... it may be like finding a needle in a pile of seven billion needles."
"Doesn't matter", Beast Boy finally said. "We need to find him."
"We'll keep the team together," Edward said, "I'm already used to splitting my time between universes and between the two teams. In major missions when Solor's firepower would make a difference, I will fill in.
"But, Robin's right. Solor, like myself, can assume different forms for a disguise. Finding him will be difficult, but, not totally impossible. One cannot, for example, change their psychic vibrations. And that's something I can detect, as can the two Ravens. But, it will still take time.
"He best be ready to spill the beans...or brother or not, I shall kick his ass!"
With that, the Teen Titans all headed out, hoping that someone had seen the Heir of Light.
Meanwhile, on an open highway hundreds of miles away, a large man was driving a pickup truck. It was old and rusted, but it was reliable, according to the salesman. It would last him a while, and he would be able to travel quite a distance before it began to fall apart.
"I'm sorry", the man said aloud, his green eyes filled with sorrow. "I wish that there was another way... but this is my destiny. And yours as well, unfortunately." He looked over to the sleeping baby in the car seat beside him. "I will keep you safe... and someday, we will be a family again. I will bring you back to your mom and sister one day, and give you what you rightfully deserve."
Komi yawned in her sleep, letting out a little gurgle as her tail coiled slightly around his hand, calmed by her father's presence.
Solor writes...
Well, the day came and went. I am now the proud father of two little girls, both whom I love very much. But with that miracle comes a great tragedy. Boneseeker told me that I had to do this. So, with a heavy heart, I must leave my family behind, taking with me my hybrid daughter.
My actions from now on will determine the survival of my family. Until the threat she perceived has passed, I must stay out of sight, in the shadows, and under the nose of the Titans, whom I know will always be looking for me from now on.
Then again, by now, Lair has been informed, so, I expect Father to flood the planet with search parties. Fortunately, none of them will be able to tell if it's me or not, and with a new spell, they will not find Komi, either. Them, I will not have to worry about.
Edward, on the other hand... He's going to be livid until he finds me. He always says that the truth is the best defense, yet, I couldn't even trust him and he knew all about waiting until certain events had come and gone. I have to hope that he will take care of Soskrein as he promised. I wish I could have told him, but I was told that not even he would be able to change this. Even then... I swore secrecy. One of his pet peeves is someone abandoning their family, and, unless I can fully explain why...he might be angry enough to petition for a BloodBath or maybe something just as severe. I've never seen Edward hold a grudge for a long time. Even when he's had a reason, he'd let it go, except once...Nightmare. Even now, the mention of his name annoys Edward. I shudder to think what he could do to me upon my return.
I also have to consider Edward's mate and counterpart. Raven's quite talented and if my spells ever slip either of them could reach through with their soul-selves and pull us back to the tower. If I'm lucky, neither of them will banish me to someplace I would rather not be, then again, if all three combine their efforts...Edward's magical abilities may still be amateur at times, combined with Raven's increases in force. If they reach out to the spellcaster with the Justice League or Dr. Fate, I don't know if my shield spells will work.
May the First have mercy for my transgressions.
The End... for now.