Author's notes: After this, you may get the silly idea that this is a Robin/Terra coupling. It's not. If you are also reading the Digimon fanfic, you will find some startling references to it, backed with a little bit of ancient mythology. The thing Slade is doing is what I feel is an underused plot device. A lot of magic systems believe thoughts are things, yet only a few people find a creative use for the idea. Probably because it's bound to sound corny, I'll bet, a pitfall I fear I cannot avoid myself.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, and apart from the Humming Bird and Zui Quan all the martial arts styles you'll read about here came from a movie called Kung Fu Hustle, one of my favourites. The story about Zui Quan actually exists, without the Ninth, obviously, and those booklets came from Kung Fu Hustle as well. The Humming Bird as a name I came up with, the style is also used in the movie, but not named. Kali-Yuga is the bo staff from Soul Calibur, a weapon from the Holy Trinity. The whole 'each person is a star' philosophy I got from Aleister Crowley's 'Book of the Law'.

Chapter 21:Not the Quest You expected.

Beast Boy let the issue of Terra's past rest now that he knew. He wouldn't have had long to think about it, because some days after a martial arts expert named Kitarou tried to rob an antiques dealer in the Eastern part of town. Robin was the first to catch him, as he was busy pilfering a bo staff Robin recognised as Kali-Yuga, or at least a very convincing copy. Given the fact that Robin hadn't had a chance to fight hand to hand in a while, the other Titans decided to let ole' Rob get a workout on the guy.

They found him floored in a two-story building three blocks further.

Apparently, Kitarou had trained under someone called the True Master, and this new ordeal had made Robin realise that he needed to know more about martial arts, and even though he didn't say it, everyone knew that he was concerned about the coming battles, and the fact was that even though he was probably their match in battle, he just didn't have the same powers the other Titans had. Even Juro had an edge on him with that wopping and that weird space-bar-brawling type of martial arts. And no amount of talking could dissuade him from what he was about to do: he couldn't settle for instructions from a spirit or the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, seeing as the latter was frequently inaccurate anyway, not even a new sparring program from Cyborg could tempt him to stay. Fact was, if Slade was going to keep coming back, he had to crank up his level.

The other Titans naturally all had their last say about it the day he actually left. The conversations were all quite similar, obviously, and as such they need not be mentioned here. There was, however, one thing that would stick with him for a long time. Terra, amnesiac though she was, also wanted to share a few parting words with the Boy Wonder.
"So you're leaving?" she asked, still a little insecure about herself. Kai had told him about the progress she'd been making, she was now fluently launching boulders and her reflexes were up to where they should be. She still struggled with a slow and continued control, he'd said. That had come as no surprise, as she'd had that very same problem all her career. He did find it odd, though, to see her standing in that Earthbender uniform. The gap that was supposed to be there from her absence was replaced with awkwardness.

"Yeah," Robin replied. Awkward, indeed. If things had gone any other way, she'd have known her past by now, and…he didn't want to think about that. He was still the leader of this team and she was more or less a part of it. Or would be, or had been… thinking usually got hard when he reached that point.

"But you'll be back, right? You'll just go study under this True Master, and then you'll be back, right?" she sounded like a toddler or something, it was eerie.

"Why would you even ask that, you know I'll be back, Terra," Robin had just had about five conversations about his departure that had all gone the same way, so he was on a single-track mind now.

"I dunno. It's just that…you are the leader, right? You're in charge of everyone when they fight, aren't you?"

He tried to find the link.
"Yes…everybody trusts me, mostly. You did, too, you know. I can imagine it's difficult to believe, but,"

"It's not that, Rob," she interrupted," I know I'm not supposed to remember, and I know there's a reason for it that I can't know either. But everybody's been so friendly I think I can live with it. Kai and Juro have promised to give me my memories back once I'm strong enough. And Raven's gonna make sure I don't get any false memories. But that's not what worries me. I just want to know…did I do anything to you before?"

Robin didn't know what to answer.
"It's just that I've only been back for, like, four days and Starfire's shown me around the city, Raven's helped me pick out books from the library…she says it helps distract me from not remembering. Cyborg's got me started on the gym, even though Kai's pushing my powers already. Juro, well, he's weird, but he's been nice in a weird way, I think. But you…you've been different from everyone else."

After digesting that last bit of intel, Robin was relieved to find she hadn't realised anything too traumatic about herself.
"What do you mean?" he dared.

"Everybody else seems…happy to see me. Like I'm really a friend who's been gone for too long. But you, you always look like somebody's gonna die. Even when you're on the Gamestation, even when you're with Starfire, it never lasts. For the four days I've been here, I don't think I've seen you in any happy moments. So is it because of me, or are you always that serious?"

'Are you always that serious?' rang in his head, and he suddenly realised his predicament with Starfire…

"You and Starfire are a couple, right?" she asked out of the blue.

He'd been undergoing the love Starfire showered him with, when she could, and that wasn't often, but for some reason he held back on himself. He knew how to relax, though; he had his joyrides on the R-cycle, those moments of total victory on the Gamestation…he had his fun. But she couldn't know that, not with the little bit she knew of him.

"Yeah, we are…sort of," he stammered.

Robin finally realised Terra was now, for all intents and purposes, an outside observer. Everything she saw of the Titans, she was seeing for the first time, even though they already knew her as a friend.
"And it's got nothing to do with you. These last few days have been hard on everybody. I guess I just showed it more," he half-apologised.

"What about Beast Boy and Juro? Did they do anything to me?"

Robin headed for the door, but kept eye-contact.
"Why do you ask?"

"Beast Boy's acting a little different from everyone else too. He's always got this little look in his eyes, like me wants me to approve. And Raven tells me Juro risked his life to get me out of…whatever it was. So are they trying to make up for something they did to me? They seem nice guys."

"They are, nice I mean. There's really nothing going on, Terra. They're just careful, is all. Was there anything else you wanted ask me?" Robin decided this sort of talk just had to happen, but that didn't mean it could take up all of his time.

"Guess that's all. And I'd better get going before Kai finds out I'm…"

"Late for class, Terra?" the odd turtle-thing had a knack for sneaking up on people, and even Robin hadn't noticed his arrival.
"Well, Robin, off to find the True Master, are we?" now Kai had say his goodbyes. Robin was beginning to think he'd never get to leave.

"That's right, Kai," he couldn't keep the frustration out of his voice, either. Another preach about leaving and how he didn't have to…
"Well, off you go then, mustn't keep the Ninth waiting," it came.

Hang on; he wasn't going to throw a fit about it? No lecture? Even his master had tried to dissuade him from it. And what did he mean by…
"What do you mean: the Ninth?" Robin queried.

"Oh, you don't know? The True Master is well known in the spirit realm. Apparently few have ever met him, but those few who have always identify him as "The Ninth Immortal". Funny, really, nobody seems to know where in God's green Earth they got that name. Or what's happened to the other eight, for that matter. In any case, off you go, and remember to keep an eye open for frauds: they're like a plague in the higher circles of martial arts," at that he turned around and pulled Terra by the arm, motioning her to her training room," now, Terra, I have a real treat for you today: the Boulder Dash. Basically you pull a rock and hurl it around with your powers. Then the trick is applying enough force to keep it in its orbit, while not hitting yourself over the head with it…" it trailed off as they rounded a corner.

So he was looking for an immortal now? That certainly narrowed it down.

TTTTTTT

After landing his jet and finding the right village, Robin was faced with an old woman who told him to abandon his equipment and costume, and travel in white. His mask stayed firmly put, though.

Attentive readers or people who actually know to think outside the box will have figured out that the old woman who showed Robin where to go is in fact the True Master himself, or rather herself. They will probably also wonder why a young detective, one who dealt with criminal masterminds even Hannibal Lector might not comprehend, couldn't figure such a simple thing out for himself.

These people must not think very highly of dear old Robin, because he had figured it out the second the old woman had handed him his white outfit, which read "True Master fabric, 100 percent cotton, made in Taiwan" on the label. It should be noted that he played the ignorant fool to humour the Master. It didn't take him long to reach his first obstacle.

His first obstacle was a bridge guarded by a bear.

A large, talking bear.

A very, very large talking bear that he had to defeat before being allowed to pass. Moreover, he had to reach the mountain summit, the one the old lady had pointed him towards, before sunset, or he would have failed what he presumed was a test.

Robin tried bringing the beast down with a sideswipe kick, a plan that quickly evaporated when he realised that sort of thing just doesn't work on people who have five times your body weight and a conveniently placed centre of gravity.

Needless to say, the bear was sitting on him two seconds later. Still undeterred, Robin summoned a near superhuman strength and lifted the bear clean off the ground, then quickly dropping him in the river.

Guardian one: Beaten and wet.

TTTTTTTT

As Starfire passed by Robin's room, she chanced to see him standing in front of a mirror. Her hopes were quickly dashed when Robin turned out to be green.

Evidently, Raven was the only person in the Tower to ever lock her room, and armed with that knowledge, Beast Boy had snuck into Robin's room to try on his costume.
He dared Starfire to join him.
After all, the Boy Wonder had plenty of spares…

TTTTTTTTT

Now the Guardian of the Cave was a little trickier than the one from the river. As if it wasn't bad enough that he had to fight in the dark, in an echoing cave, that annoying old lady Robin now firmly believed to be the True Master, had gotten him to carry her buckets of water on a rocky road, barefoot. He was sore all over, and the snake did nothing to improve his humour, the hisses echoing through the cave. If it hadn't been for the echoes, he'd have been able to pinpoint the Guardian by sound. That he could do, that was an easy trick. As it was, Robin feared he'd have to improvise. He closed his eyes, tried to reach out with his senses…'Use the Force', he thought jokingly, only to find the Force did actually work. As if guided by something deeper than his own five senses, he grabbed the snake-man by the waist, who quickly surrendered.

Guardian two: Down.

Robin did wonder, though, about the nature of these Guardians and what they were supposed to teach. Their tests had to be providing him with some kind of moral, or lesson, but he couldn't think of what.

TTTTTTTTT

After Cyborg had joined Star and BB in the Robinfest, which consisted mostly of badly executed moves and silly playing with dangerous equipment, Kai and Terra wandered in, with Silky in tow, as the pet worm hadn't been fed yet. Upon seeing the three Robins each messing around with the R-cycle, the Birdarangs and whatnot, Terra shyly asked if she might join in. She was just curious how good she'd look in tights, truth be told. And Kai could do with some comic relief…

TTTTTTTTT

Not much can be said of the monkey Guardian, and when the fight was over, Robin assumed he'd learned to fight dirty, and use one's environs to his advantage. The fight had been on a field of bamboo poles, and he'd won by smacking the little ape over the head with one in mid-air.

He'd finally reached the Master's house: a small Shinto-style construction on the top of the mountain.

Then Kitarou threw some bombs at him, and Robin silently cursed himself for leaving his weapons where anyone could pick them up. If it had been Slade, he'd be dead now. The two fought, and Robin found he was exhausted from the journey.
But the old lady was there, too, and the final truth of it all dawned on him:
"There will always be those who take the easy way, instead of the right way. But that's no excuse for giving up."

Kitarou was no match for Robin then, even with the stolen weapons. Robin threw him as if it were a feather, saw through the smoke he tried to hide behind and then snapped his staff into his face. When it became clear who was the victor, Kitarou was escorted off the mountain. The True Master revealed herself, obvious though it was, and it turned out Kitarou hadn't studied under her, equally obvious. The stolen Kali-Yuga staff was entrusted to the True Master, who, incidentally, had placed an order for it weeks before. Then the training began. There was something bothering Robin, though.
"Why did I have to reach this place before dark?"

"It's easier to see the path when there's light," she replied.

"But…isn't there a deeper meaning to all this?" he stammered. This was not how he'd imagined things would turn out.

"Not really; the Guardians separate the dross from the true warriors."

He still didn't understand.

"You can only pass the bear if you have enough inner strength, if your chi is strong enough. The snake can be conquered only by those who augment their senses by their chi and the monkey requires full body control, even of your own weight. Now, defend yourself!"

And so began their sparring match.

TTTTTTTTT

It had to be said, they all looked pretty darn good in Robin uniforms. So good, in fact, that they went and did the whole thing over again the next day. It was a fun new hobby, this Robining. Raven didn't seem to like the prospect, when the common room was filled with the trademark masks and R's. She wouldn't join in; she could resist simple peer pressure.
"Hey guys," then the real Robin entered, and Raven felt good about being the most mature one in the Tower.
However, this Robin was slightly taller than what they remembered, and his hair was different. When Raven felt in her gut that this was Juro; she gave up and just went with the flow.

TTTTTTTTT

When they were done, the True Master had some shocking news.

"Well, I can't teach you anything," she stated.

Robin was, needless to say, flabbergasted.
"What? But, but…"

"What would I teach? How to kick better? You know how to train for that. Jump higher? You don't need my instructions for that. I dare say, most of the methods to strengthen one's chi are on your Internet to begin with, so there really wouldn't be any point in you staying for too long."

"So I came all this way…just for what I learned from the Guardians?" he was incredulous.

"Not exactly. I do have one or two booklets you may find interesting. Your chi is of a very strange kind, Robin. Most people are born with it flowing weakly, in ways that are less than optimal, or they are born with it flowing perfectly, or they require a trigger, like a near death experience. Yours appears to have been opened very recently. Tell me, have you had any grievous injuries lately that miraculously healed? Any arrows or knives in your flesh that later didn't seem to leave a scar? Have you had any acupressure?"

Starfire. Starfire's alien acupressure techniques. Those must've opened up his energy channels. What were the odds?

"Well, in any event, your chi is fit for these techniques, but I warn you they are not to be used lightly," the True Master headed for a book shelf inside," let me see here…the Twelve Kicks of the Tam School? No, that would unbalance you too much. The Hung Family Iron Wire? Not much use if you're not wearing your gloves," she took out every booklet as she said its name and casually threw it on the ground when rejected," The Eight Trigram Staff? Ah, yes, that may prove somewhat useful to you. But where is that…oh, Buddhist Palm and Toad Kung Fu? I thought I'd thrown those away after that Pig Sty debacle," she threw two more booklets to the ground," but perhaps you could use…ah, here it is! The Humming Bird!" she came down from her ladder with two of the booklets in hand. Robin had heard rumours of such little books called mìjí, but he thought they were just a myth. Less than that, even, he thought they were a joke. And he knew of the Pig Sty debacle she mentioned, but he'd thought that as a myth as well.

"You are… the True Master, right?" he asked, a little uncertain of what to do next.

"Yes, that's me. That's what people like to call me, in any event. Why?"

"It's just that," he said as she handed him the Trigram Staff and Humming Bird mìjí," I thought you were more of this…strict warrior type of Master."

She didn't look at all surprised at that.
"Perhaps I should be; but then I like to think I'm too important to be taken seriously. You'll find these mìjí contain all the knowledge you should want, training, conditioning, techniques, everything."

He nodded.
"I think I understand that, but I'm curious about one more thing."

"Name it, young warrior," she said with a flourish.

"You mentioned the Pig Sty debacle. That was when a bunch of martial artists went up against a mob known as the Axe Gang. But that was nearly seventy years ago, and only a handful of people know of it, and they consider it just a rumour. And a friend of mine said some people call you the Ninth Immortal. So, are you?"

Her expression hardened at that, and she motioned to sit down.

"I'd have thought one of your prowess would have run into someone who knows. Did this friend of yours specify what he meant by 'Ninth Immortal', or was it just a name?"

"It was just a name he gave me. He said that even the people who call you that don't really know why. So…who or what are they talking about?"

"Before I say anything I regret, you should know one thing: the story concerns beings not of this planet, and powers that mortal minds…have difficulty understanding. It's even harder to explain than the truly inexplicable ones, because those at least can be easily described as such."

"I think I understand," Robin said.

"To truly know what is meant by the Ninth, it's important to realise that his, or her, or its powers have only recently been making their presence felt again. Some time ago, a plan was conceived to destroy our planet. This plan came from aliens, I assume someone of your stature has dealt with them already," she stopped.

He nodded.

"In any event, the plan was born of greed and was meant to destroy all the Earths and those that dwelled on it. You see, young warrior, the universe consists of two things: experiences and things that can experience. Each person is a star, never the same in any moment in time and always gaining new experiences, which change them with or without their knowing. Each experience creates a new world, and each world exists separately, making infinite Earths. But our planet is special in that some of these worlds may overlap entirely, and experiences missed in one world are gained in another, creating a hybrid reality. But these creatures aimed to destroy all of reality for our planet, and designed a machine to compress or eliminate all possibilities of experience, which would create one world for them to ultimately destroy.
They were thwarted by a person who existed only in one reality, and who had gained the power to draw any experience he wanted into him."

Juro. She was talking about Juro. The impact of what he'd done had never quite sunk in with Robin…

"Mind you, even his power was limited. These experiences could be drawn mostly from his own mind, but only in part into a physical reality. Still, the machine was destroyed, and infinite Earths soon began rebuilding themselves. It is from here that the Ninth began to fully employ its power."

"Then what is the Ninth Immortal? What does it have to do with all the Earths being destroyed? I know who you're talking about; the one who destroyed the machine is a friend of mine. Is the Ninth his enemy? Is it mine?"

She settled down in her chair, comfortably telling her tale.

"The story of the Ninth Immortal begins a long time ago…"

TTTTTTTTT

It should be said, Raven did not mind wearing spandex one bit, and nobody minded seeing her in it, either. Then again, the same could be said of all the Titans, the girls especially. Terra convinced Kai to let her work out just once wearing her Robin costume, and everybody else went about their usual business in a yellow and green spandex, with the obligatory impressions of 'Titans, go!' and 'Titans, trouble!' whenever a mild emergency showed itself, usually related to a lost remote.

Those were fun times in Titans Tower, fun times…

But halfway day 2, they were beginning to really miss Robin.

TTTTTTTTT

"The Eight Immortals that the world does know of," she narrated," were eight people who each represented a virtue. They were truly heroes, and they were the ones who created Zui Quan. You know now of whom I speak?"

Zui Quan…that sounded familiar enough. It was Batman's favourite trick while they sparred. Of course, that's why he hadn't thought of it; there were about four or five different stories about its creation, and crazy ones at that.

"However, there was a Ninth who was excluded from the legend because he did not have one virtue, but rather, he chose what he wanted to be depending on the moment: honourable, wise, cunning, even his prosperity could change at a whim. He was supposedly never seen without a hood concealing his face, but on two occasions he removed it in private. The first was when he courted Lady Kaguya, the Moon-Maiden, a figure in Japanese folklore. Then he disappeared for a while until after she departed to her home on the moon. After that he is recorded on several occasions, but always concealing his face. The second time anyone saw his face was when the other Eight were gathered, the birth of Zui Quan. Those two occasions he was described as both pale and dark at the same time, and his ears were like a rabbit's. This seems to suggest that he was also a spirit from the moon, a Moon-Man. But his behaviour, his acts of violence and random flirting, seem to suggest otherwise. The Moonfolk are always described as self-controlled, mild-tempered, but the Ninth was more mischievous. The only conclusion that leaves is that he was not from the same side of the moon as Kaguya, but from the shadow side.

They say the Ninth Immortal was a Yami Soratami, a Dark Moonfolk, the first of his kind to descend unto Earth. As you know, Zui Quan is also known as drunken boxing, and its creation still remains a blight to those who feel martial arts should be restricted by rules and laws. Some even believe that the fight where the Eight conceived drunken boxing, was in fact started by this dark figure. That would mean he, and he alone, is responsible for one of the most important revelations in martial history: that it doesn't matter what you do, as long as it works."

"But then, what happened to the other Eight?" Robin asked.

"Well, what do you think? What eight virtues might they have possessed, in truth, not legend? What would be the eight primal virtues and what would happen with the ones who had them?"

Robin thought, long and hard.
"First would have to be acting in spite of fear. Courage is the First Virtue.

Second…always try to have as many riches as possible, not for greed, but to satisfy yourself and others. And having a lot of friends counts as a wealth. I'd say Friendship is the second.

Third, a balance in body, mind and spirit. Every human has impulses from all three, and to accept all the good ones and bad ones in oneself and others…and knowing which ones are right… I'd say that takes Love.

The Fourth, what could that be?" he wondered aloud," humans have always had an innate curiosity, but they've also always needed some caution when trying to learn. Curiosity and Caution…I'd say Knowledge in general comes fourth.

The Fifth Virtue, I'd wager is truth to oneself and others. But not just that; it's also knowing when to offer help and when it's best to remain passive. I'd say either Integrity or Sincerity. No, Sincerity is definitely closer.

The Sixth… maybe self-sacrifice. Giving up time and energy for others, always being there for others, to be reliable. Reliability.

The Seventh Virtue…never giving up. It's what you have to have when Courage and all the others just aren't enough. When everything fails, all you can rely on is Hope. Hope is the Seventh.

The Eighth… what could that possibly be? Maybe it would be doing things just for the sake of doing. Selflessness, wanting to do something with no desire of a reward. In one word I'd say it's the Light. "

"Very good. And if the people who had these virtues were so important, what happened to them?" she glared at Robin now, and the look told him this was a test to see if he'd learned.

"The people aren't that important," he realised," they'd move on, even if they were immortal, and the Virtues would return somehow. Originally, they weren't given, those Virtues, they came from those people. But that doesn't mean they can't be given to others later. You're saying the Eight Immortals are still on this world?"

"I'm saying that the world is different now, from when they first appeared. The Eight are no longer alive as persons, but their legacy still remains. And as for the Ninth…nobody knows the whole truth about him. Not even me."

Robin resigned.
"I guess you're not going to tell me where you fit in, will you, Master?"

The old woman smiled.
"It's not important to know my role, young warrior. It's important to know your own. I cannot teach you anything else."

They said their goodbyes, and Robin left.
TTTTTTTTTT

A figure appeared behind her. It was dark, yet pale at the same time.
"Funny how he knew about the Eight," it said.

"He is a smart one," she replied.

"Not smart enough to tell you were lying when you told him about me. You do know the whole truth. I told you."

"And how do I know it is true? You lie more than any other being in the Universe. You've caused more trouble than any other entity ever in existence. Can you honestly tell me that you can be honest?"

"Want some fruit?" came the reply.

TTTTTTTTTT

As Robin set his jet to autopilot, he tried to think about his trip. He'd beaten Kitarou, which had been his main goal. He now knew about the Eight Immortals, but the Ninth was still a mystery. Funny, though: all that fuss over a legend about eight people who got drunk and found out they could still fight. Well, nine people. Maybe he really was too serious; if a bunch of drunks can do all that, maybe it wouldn't hurt to just let go sometimes. He had the mìjí of the Eight Trigram Staff and the Humming Bird. Now he could be assured that come the next fight, he'd be more than a match for anything. He was satisfied.

When all the Robins were busy having pizza, using a Birdarang as a knife, Robin really felt happy. Terra Robin gave him a little look, and Robin Robin's expression put her mind at ease. Of course, right after that she turned her full attention to the green Robin.

Those were fun times at Titans Tower, fun times. And seeing Silky and Kai dressed up as him sent one hilarious thought through Robin's head.
'Nine Robins… good thing we don't have any beer.'

TTTTTTTTT

"Why did you send me here, Master?" Slade asked telepathically. He was standing outside a school.

"Look at it, Slade. Can't you feel it? Frustrations, fear, hatred…all from these young little meatlings. The perfect fodder for my plan. The energies they release are enough, enough to build me a force greater than those Teen Titans. The Chaos Mage will likely find a way to bypass my own power, but he cannot stop this. This is human pain, human energies. And it is perfect for my new scions."

"New scions?" Slade queried.

"Don't worry. I won't back down from our deal. In fact, you can keep them when I am done with them."

Slade had gathered as much free energy s he could. He barely believed the amount of power these kids generated with their fear, and petty frustrations. It was negative energy he gathered, but still tinged with youth. What it was for, he could barely conceive.

But hey, he wasn't one to question his Master.

TTTTTTTTTT

Fun times in Titans Tower, fun times…

End of chapter 21.