{(Chapter 9- Alliances)}
Sayuri was still contemplating whether to attack Slade head-on, or grab both Robin and Starfire and teleport out of there. She was leaning towards the latter, and was ready to make her move, when Slade suddenly stepped in front of Robin. Sayuri hesitated, wondering what Slade was going to do.
Slade smirked as he bent down to inspect Robin's face. "So, Robin. Do you really not recognize anyone in this room?"
Robin stared at him with a look of distaste. "It feels like my memory's remaking itself little by little. At the moment, I recognize no one but you."
"And my name is…?"
Robin's voice carried a hint of disgust. "Slade."
"That's right! I'm Slade. Your master."
Robin remained quiet. He silently debated whether the words were true.
"…And as your master, the first task I command you to do is…" What could I use to test his new lack of morals…? "Go get yourself a nice car to drive around in."
"Fine."
"Well… go!"
Robin rolled his eyes. "I'm going to need money, stupid."
Slade stared at him in disgust. "You want to pay for it? What I want you to do is steal the car."
Robin faltered. "Oh…"
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Meanwhile, back at the Titan's Tower…
Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg were all crowded around the kitchen. Raven was drinking her herbal tea, Cyborg was eating from a pile of bacon and sausages, and Beast Boy was picking at his tofu eggs. They were all completely silent – which was pretty unusual for two of the three titans.
Suddenly, Beast Boy broke the silence.
"So, are we gonna go help him out or what?"
"No," Raven coldly replied. She sighed, regretting her answer. "Robin told us to stay here. As his friends, we should do what he asks."
Cyborg nodded, mumbling out his words through a mouthful of meat.
"Hae shaed Shttar wowd besh ish dasser isht wesh lest."
Raven couldn't help but grimace. "That's digusting."
Beast Boy raised his eyebrows. "Huh?"
Cyborg swallowed all the food down, with effort.
"I… said; He said Star would be in danger if we left."
"Didn't sound like it…" Raven muttered.
Beast Boy smirked and continued eating.
The three sat in silence for a little while longer. Then, after a few minutes, it was broken again. This time by Cyborg.
"So… what do ya guys wanna do while we wait for them?"
Beast Boy blinked. "What do I want to do?"
"Yeah."
Beast Boy glanced at Raven then turned back to Cyborg.
"Nothing that involves you."
Raven's cheeks actually turned a light shade of pink, from embarrassment. But her voice betrayed no such emotion. "Get those dirty thoughts out of your mind. And if you can't, keep them to yourself."
Beast Boy shrugged. Cyborg burst out laughing.
"Well, BB, she has a point. Anyway, I can't help but think we should be doing something to help out, ya know?"
Raven and Beast Boy both nodded.
"So, if you both agree… how're we gonna help?!"
Raven sighed. "Well, we could start by finishing breakfast."
Cyborg groaned. "But then what?"
"I don't know. We'll see."
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Back at Slade's hideout…"In that case… No."
Slade and Sayuri's eyes both widened.
"What?" they both demanded.
What has Sayuri done?! Slade thought. She's failed me! He won't steal! He still has morals!
This is perfect… Sayuri thought at the same time. Perfect, Perfect, Perfect!! Here's a way for me to get him outta here!
"I can't just rob a car lot! Stealing is wrong…"
Starfire looked up, her eyes still glistening with tears. There is still hope for getting Robin back?
"…why are you all looking at me like that…?"
"What do you MEAN, why am I looking at you like that?!?!" Slade shouted. "You still want to do GOOD!" He turned to Sayuri. "YOU! This is all YOUR fault! WHY DOES HE STILL DO GOOD?!?!"
Sayuri seemed to cower beneath Slade's furious gaze. "I don't know! But I can fix it!"
Slade relented. "What did you say?"
"… I can fix this problem…"
"Explain."
"The only thing wrong is one of the circuits malfunctioned… or something. I can take it back to the person who made it, have him reprogram the chip, and re-wipe Robin's memory of morals and his past as a Titan."
Slade hesitated. "… Fine… you're off the hook… for now. But if you don't get this fixed, I'll have your head, Sayuri."
Sayuri nodded and walked over to Robin. She stood there for a second, seemingly thinking. Then she dragged Robin over to Starfire, putting a hand on the shoulder of each.
"…Why are you taking the girl?"
Sayuri started to glow orange. "We need to release her now that Robin's yours, desu ne? I figure this'll be killing two birds with one stone."
Slade was quiet for a moment, and then nodded. "Fine. Take them. But you'd better be back soon, and with Robin's memory fixed up."
Sayuri couldn't help but smirk as she teleported herself, Robin and Starfire out of the lair. Come back soon? "Fix-up" his memory? Over my dead body.
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Starfire was surprised when the room around her briefly went blank. But, soon, instead of black nothingness, she was surrounded by what looked like a Taco Bell parking lot. In front of her, was a shiny, honey colored convertible. She noted that the top was already down.
Sayuri sighed and looked over at Starfire. "You can stand up now."
Starfire struggled for a moment, trying to stand herself up without using her hands. She still felt a little too nauseous to use her powers. It's what came from being locked and tied up in a boring, dark room for so long.
After watching her struggle for a few seconds, Robin stepped up to her and helped her onto her feet. Starfire found that she enjoyed feeling his arms around her, even if for only a moment. His warmth comforted her, and made her heart feel like it was glowing.
When Starfire was back on her feet, Robin took a step back from her. "I'm sorry about that. Are you alright now, miss?"
Starfire's previously "glowing" heart split in two. She was harshly reminded that Robin no longer knew her… and may never remember…
"Yes, I am fine now." She replied, holding the hurt from her voice. "I thank you truly for the favor."
Sayuri saw the interaction, and sighed. I feel so guilty for all this… but I'll help fix it somehow.
"I'm so sorry…"
Starfire looked up at Sayuri. She thought she saw traces of tears in the other girl's eyes.
"I caused all of this… I'm so sorry, but… there was no other way… if there was, I would have taken it." She paused for a moment. "But… I can help you get his memory back. You're just going to have to trust me."
Starfire didn't hesitate. "Okay. Where are we going to first?"
Sayuri faltered. "W-What? You're going to trust me just like that? But… I was working with the bad team… you're not… holding a grudge for that?"
"I did assume that there was more to you than you showed us…"
Sayuri smiled. "You're a smart girl."
Sayuri walked over to her, and quickly untied the jinxed ropes from Starfire's hands. Starfire thanked her, and rubbed her sore wrists, to get the circulation flowing in them again.
Robin stared at them both blankly, unsure of what they were talking about, or what he should do.
"Well," Sayuri said. "If we're going to… cure Robin, we're gonna have to do some driving…" She gestured towards her car. "So hop in."
Robin nodded, thankful for an instruction that didn't confuse him. He climbed into the backseat of the convertible. Starfire, too, walked around to the other side of the car, and hopped into the passenger seat.
Sayuri smiled and sat herself down in the driver's seat. She turned to Starfire, a little hesitant. "Listen… before we go see my friend about getting Robin back… I need to make a quick stop somewhere else…"
Starfire nodded, and reached to buckle her seatbelt. "Alright. Where is it we are quickly stopping to?"
Sayuri sighed and started the car. "I just need to drop off some money at the hospital."
(A/N- Cliffhanger? Maybe. I'm not sure how you define these things. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It took me quite a while to type out… even though I knew exactly what I wanted to say. Weird, eh?
Oooh… and thank you SO much for your reviews!!! 122!!!! YAY!!! That's a record for me. ^__^;;; Also… I'd like to take this chance to respond to a few reviews I got.
LordVaughan: Thank you very much for the advice! I do plan to have the other titans in on the fic, though they're not really starred, like Robin&Starfire. I explained more about this in an e-mail I sent to your public e-mail address… did you get it?
Kit Kat: ^__^ Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it very much. The message above also applies to you, I suppose. But I didn't send you an e-mail. *Whispers* I only really send explanation e-mails to people who sound REALLY upset with how I'm writing my story.
TragicFairyLove: Yes, indeed. I do hope you'll continue reading.
Luna-Chan3: You're right. Couples are really fun to make up. But I can't help but feel that Raven and Beast Boy are meant to be. Their personalities are such opposites… Opposites attract, ne? Raven is what brings out the serious, sentimental side of BB. Beast Boy is what brings out the emotional, loving side of Raven. All-in-all… it's meant to be. Although, I have nothing against Raven/Robin fans. Just because I believe that Raven/BB and Starfire/Robin is meant to be, does not mean everyone does. They don't judge me for my pairings, so I won't judge them for theirs. ^^
A.N.D: Yeppers. They do cost a lot. Chemo surgery costs somewhere around 10k per operation. And you usually get more then one. Also, I'm not exactly sure what powers Slade has, but I plan to do some research before posting the big fight scene.
That's all for now, folks! Please, please continue to review!!!
I love ya all!
One last time, though…
REVIEW!!!!)