******************************

Starfire awoke, numb and disoriented, to find the world dark around her.  Through a gap in the makeshift ceiling she could see the tiny points of light that were stars.  Lifting an aching hand, she felt the familiar rush of heat as a green orb sprang to life around it.  Starfire sat up and blinked in the sudden brightness as the area around her was bathed in the pulsing light.

She was lying in a makeshift bed under the roof that Raven and Beast Boy had pieced together.  Beast Boy himself was sleeping nearby, curled up in the form of a green kitten and snuggled at the edge of the torn blanket that covered her.

Slowly the lingering fog of sleep dissipated from her mind, and Starfire remembered what had happened.  She felt energy begin coursing through her veins as her eyes began glowing green and she rose quickly from the temporary bed.  The single purpose that had driven her thoughts and actions since the explosion rose to consume her being once again: find him.

Her sudden movement disturbed the tiny green kitten who had been sleeping nearby.  Beast Boy gave a tiny mew and changed back into humanoid form, still half asleep.  He yawned, blinking, then came fully awake as he saw Starfire.

"Star?" He stood and began following her as she moved outside.  "Hey, how are you feeling?"

The tall alien girl gave no reply, but turned her face towards the center of the city and started lifting off into the air.

Suddenly Beast Boy realized what she was doing.  "Star!  Starfire, wait!"  He dashed the few steps between them and reached for her ankle.

At his touch, Starfire whirled in midair, her burning green eyes narrowed in fury.  "Release me!"

Beast Boy turned his determined green face up to hers.  "Starfire, listen to me!  You're just going to hurt yourself more if you keep looking for him!"  He could feel her pulling against him, trying to fly, and was surprised that he was able to hold on.  Starfire was several times stronger than he was, but the days she had spent constantly searching must have drained her more than he'd realized.  "You can't go back, you have to stop!"

"No!"  Star raised a glowing green fist and suddenly released the sphere of energy held there.  It shot forward, missing Beast Boy by several inches, even though he was so close.  "I must find him!"

Beast Boy hung on, despite her attack.  "You can't find him, Star!  He's gone!"

Starfire squeezed her eyes closed, as though she could shut out his words.  "Do not say such things!" She was firing with both hands now, the starbolts ripping through the air around Beast Boy, each one striking the ground around him harmlessly.

"He's gone, Star!"  Beast Boy shouted, "He's gone!"

"No!  No, no, no!"  With each scream of grief, Starfire released another bolt of energy from her hands.  Tears were streaming from her lighted eyes now, glowing with a green light of their own as they fell.  "You are wrong!  I simply have not looked hard enough!"

Beast Boy found himself near tears, too, as he tried to help Starfire see the truth.  He knew the truth; he'd known it since the instant of the explosion.  Why did it hurt so much to say it?  Beast Boy didn't want to voice it aloud; doing so seemed to make it so much more painful…so real.  But he had to. 

For Starfire's sake.

Beast Boy swallowed hard and pushed the words past his constricting throat in a dry, emotionless whisper.  "No matter how hard you look, Star, you won't be able to find him.  Because he's not here anymore. Robin is dead."

With a heart-wrenching sob, the light faded from Starfire's eyes and hands, and she sank back to the ground on hands and knees.  She knelt there, letting the last rush of tears fall freely to the scarred earth as she finally accepted the loss of her friend.

*****************************

Cyborg clicked open the communicator video screen on his arm as a soft beeping noise indicated an incoming transmission.  Robin's face appeared on the mini screen, his expression dead serious.

"Time's almost up, did you find it, Robin?" Cyborg asked, double-checking his internal chronometer.

Robin's face grew even more grim, if that were possible.  "I found it all right.  I also found out where Slade is."

Cyborg looked surprised.  They were the ones who had been looking for Slade, how had Robin found out?  "You did?  How?"

"That doesn't matter."  Shaking his head, Robin continued, "He's in Gotham City."

"Farther than we thought," Cyborg mused.

Robin nodded.  "I want you to contact the others and get over there right away, together."

Cyborg raised his eyebrow, not quite sure what to think.  Robin had just contacted him out of the blue, suddenly knowing the answer to Slade's whereabouts without having been searching for him.  Now he wanted the rest of the Titans to drop everything and go all the way to Gotham.  It sounded pretty extreme; but then again, Cyborg reasoned, Robin had never led them astray.  "All right," Cyborg agreed.  "But what about you, man?"

"I've still got this bomb to deal with," Robin answered.  "Just get the others and go."

"Yeah, but—"

"Do it!"  The screen went black as Robin issued his final command and cut the transmission.

*****************************

            Raven entered the half-standing structure that had come to be Cyborg's dwelling.  She halted just inside the entrance, letting her dark eyes adjust to the dimmer lighting.  The night was lit by a full moon, and outside the world was bright, bathed in the white moonbeams.  But here, in the crumbling remnant of a building, only a few pale shafts managed to penetrate through holes in the roof.

            When she could see clearly again, she moved forward silently.  Raven had been here several times already, and knew the small area quite well by now.  She could already see Cyborg's dark silhouette, standing in the same place it had been for the past few days.

            For all Raven knew, Cyborg hadn't even moved from that spot since he'd found this place.  Each time she and Beast Boy had come to try and talk to him, they had always found him in the same position, and each time he gave no response of any kind.  No acknowledgement of their presence, no show of emotion, no words.  He had become a silent, grieving statue, frozen and withdrawn in his own pain and guilt.

            She was only a few feet away from him when his voice suddenly sounded in the darkness, echoing in the cold, stone surroundings.

            "My fault."

            Raven stopped, eyes widening slightly.  It was the first time since before the explosion that Cyborg had said anything.  She waited, letting the heavy silence drag on, hoping he would continue.

            "It's my fault," he said again, his voice weighted with grief.

            Raven stayed silent for a moment longer, then answered softly, "You can't blame yourself."

            Suddenly Cyborg laughed.  The sound was harsh, almost maniacal.  He turned his head to face her, the single human eye glaring at her with hatred.  "You can't understand.  None of you can."

            Raven stared in shocked silence.

            "He contacted me, he lied to me.  And I fell for it."

            Raven took a single step towards him, her slender arm extended.  "Cyborg—"

            "SHUT UP!" He screamed. "He lied to me!  I trusted him, and he lied to me.  And he knew. He knew I would believe him.  He used me, he used me, and it's his fault!  HIS FAULT!  But I believed him.  I should have known, I should have seen it, should have been able to help him.  My fault, my fault, my fault…"

            Raven could see the hint of madness glinting behind his single human eye, and felt the immense waves of emotional turmoil that were clouding his mind.  He was confused, guilt-ridden, and angry…so angry.  Raven tried to move forward again, even as he continued his mad rant.

            "…shouldn't have believed him, my fault, my fault.  But he wouldn't lie to me, not about this, no…his fault for lying to me…his fault, but he's dead, it's his own fault, he's dead now, and it's all my fault…" Suddenly Cyborg noticed Raven's slow advance.  "GET OUT!" he screamed at her, "OUT!"

            Raven turned and fled, pushing herself up and into the cool, dark sky, away from the dark corner of insanity.  She felt the currents of her own guilt and pain rising as she realized that she had just lost another friend.

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            Author's note:  This is the longest chapter so far, but it's definitely my personal favorite.  It's not over yet though…

            Okay, time for my thank-yous.  TamerTerra, basest-8, Child of the Stars, Mya Dawning, x-RAVEN-x, hollaiuar, Michiko, ducky76, and LuckyLadybug66, thank you all so much for your reviews!

            Again, the italics are not showing up, so the flashback is in bold.