A/N: Finally got around to writing a new chapter. Hope you enjoy!
"Whoa, back up..." Cyborg said to Galfor trying to make sure he got the story straight, "you mean to tell me Starfire's brother was betrayed by their sister, offered to the invaders as payment and that still wasn't enough to satisfy them?!"
Galfor nod towards the half robot half human teen sitting in front of him, "I remember it well..."
Galfor strained on the floor as he crawled to the door of the young Tamaranians room. He may not be able to fight but had enough strength to at least make his way over to witness what was about to happen.
His left eye had a deep gash running from the top of his eyebrow to the soft center of his left cheek, forcing his eye shut as blood streamed down his face. But with his good eye he could still see everything...
The large leader of the Gordanians stood across from Blackfire with a puzzled look and and eyebrow raised. He was clearly trying to figure out if this was a trick but nothing seemed to add up. With his curiosity peaking, he decided to entertain this girls "deal..."
"What kind of deal are you purposing?" he asked while setting the end of his spear on ground next to him. He held it at his side like a walking staff, showing he was no longer hostile.
"The 'I help you, you help me' kind of deal." Blackfire shot back, "I'll give you my pathetic brother," as she mentioned him, she pressed down on his spine with the heel of her foot causing him to moan in pain as he lay unconscious, "this will put me first in line for the throne, and you can call on my people for anything you want when I'm Grand Ruler. In exchange, you let me get my revenge on my people for their arrogance toward me for my entire life," her hatred for her people could be heard in the tone of her voice.
The Gordanian narrowed his eyes towards the black haired girl and seemed to have a hard time believing her. This girl was royalty. How could she possibly hate her people so much?
"Your offer is more than generous," he admit, "but how can I trust it? For all I know... this is just some trick. A farse. An act to just get me to pull my armies back."
Blackfire figured it wouldn't be that easy but was prepared to fire back, "what do I need to do to prove I mean business?" She respond with confidence.
The Lizard humanoid thought for a long moment about that, raising his free hand to his chin as if physically helping his mind through his thoughts.
He slowly looked down at the younger Red haired Tamaranian he had battled earlier, "prove your hatred for your people. End him," he demanded, pointing a finger at the end of his outstretched arm towards the body of the sibling she stood upon.
--
"No..." Starfire said looking down at the floor as her hands flexed against the cell wall that held her up, "sister... you didn't, tell me you didn't... I'm begging you..." the horror in Starfire's eye's could be seen even with her head held low. Her eyes rattled and shook with tremors as if just imagining this scene was creating a brand new sense of trauma for her...
--
"No way..." Beastboy said under his breath.
"She went that far?" Raven scoffed sharing in the disbelief her boyfriend had just exhaled.
Terra and Cyborg looked at each other like this was all too unreal. It just wasn't possible... Right? They weren't sure if they wanted to hear anything else from Galfor but he continued anyways...
--
Blackfire looked down upon her helpless brother. She rolled him to his back so he was now facing up towards her. His eyes were beginning to open slowly as he came to... but he would have been better off with them closed.The sight he saw was that from a horror film. Blackfire knelt over him with a fist holding dark purple starbolt raised behind her. An evil smile dawned her face like she was about to enjoy what she was going to do. Panic began to race through Wildfire's mind though he didnt have the strength to show it on his face...
Blackfire's fist snapped forward landing the purple starbolt in his chest shattering his solar plexus and stopping his heart in its place. Wildfire's eyes went wide in disbelief. They shook and trembled at the sight of his eldest sister striking such a hate filled attack meant to end his life.
The impact was so immense that it put a dent in the floor around him through his body just as if a metor had stuck the surface. His limbs lift all around the impact like they were being sucked into a vortex before gently falling back to the ground with absolutely no life in them.
He gasped for air as he gagged on his own blood for what felt like hours but only lasted a few moments before he slipped away into a deep sleep he would never awaken from...
Galfor's good eye went wide in shock from the base of the door to the room where he had finished crawling too. He never expected to see that... but now that memory haunts him to this very day.
The Gordanian leader burst into an uproar of laughter. He was beyond overjoyed to have been entertained this much by the dark haired royalty, "very well then," his raspy voice said gleefully, "you have proven yourself to me, so allow me to sweeten the deal..."
Blackfire looked back up from her brothers corpse to the source of the raspy voice, "what did you have in mind?" She asked playfully.
"Since this trophy is no longer prize worthy," he gestured to the body of Wildfire lifeless on the floor, "if you provide me with an alternate prize, not only will I pull back my armies but I'll grant you a treaty with the Gordanians that will leave you to rule your people in peace. You will answer to no one and I will not interfere with your revenge on your people in anyway," his wicked smile cracked from ear to ear. It was his way of satisfying his bloodlust knowing fully well the Tamaranians would be in the hands of this merciless dark eyed woman.
Blackfire's smirk returned to her face, "I think I have just the prize for you..."
--
"I think you remember the rest don't you, my dearest sister?" Blackfire was saying less of a question and more of an insult to Starfire.
Starfire's memories began flashing in front of her quaking eyes...
--
The long staircase that descend into the darkness led to a safe room that only royalty and the most trusted allies knew about. Starfire found herself fleeing into this safe room where she closed the door behind her allowing for the massive door to lock itself with a massive steel bar across the width of the insanely thick and strong petrified stone door.
The room around Starfire felt cold, lifeless , and uninviting. It was meant to keep her safe but it didn't seem to make her feel safe. It only seem to stir worry in her heart like something horrible had gone wrong. She waited for hours in total isolation making the time passing feel long and grueling causing her to beg for it to end... Until a knock on the other side of the door alerted her...
"Kori, its me," her sister announced.
"Sister!" Starfire yelled back as she began unlocking the massive door to let her in, "thank X'hal you're unharmed!" But when she opened the door she could see the look on Blackfire's face. She was distraught from what she could see, "what... what is it?" She murmured.
"It's... you, Kori," Blackfire respond.
"What about me?" Starfire shot back instantly.
"They say they will leave our people in peace... so long as you go with them," Blackfire was lying and she was selling it like the perfect con-artist. This was her special talent. One that she had spent years developing by putting on an act, pretending to be happy and ignoring all the vile things being said behind her back.
"M-me?" Starfire stuttered. Her heart sank. She was selfless and good natured. Someone who would sacrifice herself for the greater good. Her sister knew this all too well and used it to her advantage.
"You don't have to-" Blackfire was interrupted before she could finish...
"No..." Starfire cut her off, "if it will ensure the safety and prosperity of our people... Then I must." Without another word she marched past Blackfire up the staircase to hand herself over, thinking she was doing the right thing.
Blackfire cracked her same devilish grin as her sister walked past her, out of view.
--
"And since Starfire managed to escape, it would mean that Blackfire would be held responsible for her or they would come after her, wouldn't they?" Raven asked the end-all question to put this story to rest. Her heart could barely handle it as it is, now that she was more in touch with her emotions.
Beastboy looked at his girlfriend and saw her fists were tightly clenched on the tail end of her dark robe she had put in her lap where she sat. She gripped it so tight that her knuckles grew bright white as the blood rushed from her fingers. It was clear to Beastboy that she was struggling very hard to maintain her composure. However... clenching her robe so tightly may have been just enough to jeep her powers in check before they explode.
Galfor nod once again to the young teens to affirm their suspicions, "one day The Grand Ruler Blackfire left Tamaran without a word. Rumors spread she had received some kind of transmission and set out shorty after," Galfor now knew why she did. She was trying to hunt down Starfire. It made his blood boil with anger and he got lost in thought until Terra spoke up snapping him out of it.
"I don't understand one thing though," Terra spoke up, "you saw the whole thing happen. Why didn't you say anything to Starfire? Why didn't you tell your people?"
Galfor looked at her with an intense amount of guilt on his face. He looked away as he thought back to that day. He knew he should have... but...
--
Galfor lay on the cold ground with one of his eyes still welded shut by the gash running down his face. He looked up to see the Gordanian leader walking at the front of the pack of lizard humanoids with his spear lazily resting on his shoulder as the others behind him led Starfire away with specially made handcuffs binding her wrists and forearms stopping her from creating starbolts.
As they walked past Galfor Blackfire could be seen behind them approaching him. Galfor reached out to Starfire as she walked past him but before he could say anything with his remaining strength, Blackfire stepped in front of his view looking down on him as she towered over him.
"Do you really want to let her sacrifice go to waste?" She asked with her perfect deception. She really did sound like she cared. But Galfor saw straight through it and she could see it on his face. He knew EVERYTHING. This caused Blackfire to drop her act and she leaned in close to Galfor when Starfire was no longer within earshot so she could whisper in a sinister tone, "or would you rather I have my new allies burn Tamaran to the ground while you watch your brothers and sisters scream in agony?"
Galfor's face went pale with worry as he looked into the face of hatred itself. Even as a Tamaranian it rattled his core.
--
Galfor looked back up at Terra with the guilt still on his face, "I wanted to... but if the word got out it would have brought only death to my kin."
Terra's eyes went wide and her jaw closed as she swallowed her tongue. She did not expect that answer and decided to not ask anymore questions.
"So we began preparing in secret," Galfor continued turning around facing the the hidden tomb he had built for his beloved rulers, "but it hasn't been easy. When the Great Grand Rulers succumb to their grief shortly after the princess was taken, some of my people gave up all hope and decided to plead for their lives by pledging total loyalty to Blackfire. We still don't know who else might be loyal to her. So we continued to prepare in secret," he then smiled and turned around to face the Titans, "but then we received a beacon of hope in a transmission from the last person we expected. Princess Starfire. Not only was she alive, but she was doing well with new friends on a distant planet she now called home."
The Titans all looked at each other with a sense of hope as smiles crossed their faces.
"This breathed a sense of life back into our people and our numbers began to grow quickly allowing us to start training for a battle we knew was bound to come," Galfor saw the hope that dawned on the faces of the Titans and couldn't help but feel nostalgia. Its the exact same feeling he had when he learned the princess had found her way to them, "WE WILL NOT FAIL HER THIS TIME!" He roared with all the pride he could muster.
The Titans all jumped to their feet screaming their approval and resolve with what Galfor had just said. They were fully energized and ready for whatever was to come next. This was their family, and come hell or high-water they will fight to the death for her.
--
The tall and dark figure of the Gordanian that stood next to Blackfire stepped in front of the dark haired Tamaranian to stare Starfire down as she stewed in the new information she just received. He leaned over getting as close to the cell wall as possible so he knew that Starfire could see her from the corner of her eye...
"You and your tiny friends may have bested my elder brother," the dark Raspy voice in front of her spat, "but as the new King of the Gordanians, I can assure you... WE. WILL. NOT. FAIL. AGAIN."