Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, but all Tamaranians are mine. Please ask before use. I'll say that nicely, but I carry a big stick!!

First off, I need to apologize to someone who reviewed part 7, but I forgot to thank. SjjEasterBunny, I humbly apologize for this mistake. You have made me feel at home here on the fan web, among many others, but you especially. By the way I meant to clarify Terra's weapon in chapter 6. A Nodachi was a giant katana used by samurai in the Warring Age as an alternative to a spear while mounted on a horse. Later, some preferred to use it's size and considerable weight on the battlefield off of a horse. The blade is much like a regular katana, although it's about 5 feet longer, and weighed 50-70 pounds. Slade trained her in the martial arts (I mean, you saw Terra take on Robin and Cyborg all by herself. It's my opinion that Slade's knowledge of combat is on par with Batman. Scary thought, but nonetheless this is what I think. Anyway, enjoy the next part.

The next couple of chapter's will reflect on the Titan's individually, all over the course of the same days. I will write about their training regiment. Keep in mind that for the next chapters, they are all happening at the same time.


Chapter 9: Cyborg – Is Your Body All You Are?

The morning sun showered over the monastery, signaling the start of a new day of training. Cyborg, with his solar sensor drinking in the light, signaled his body to commence startup. The young man's eyes opened, and he picked himself off of the bedding provided by the monks. This was no table with power cords, but his power cell should suffice without them. The monastery's quarter's exemplified simplicity, with the walls made of bamboo, and grass carpets upon the floor. A thick, red stripe was along the wall, probably as a sort of marker for each student's quarters. Each color represented what class the student was taking. Cyborg, after taking in his new room, heard the loud pattering of feet, coming outside his door. He slid the door to the side, and found that the students were lined outside each of their doors. 'Eager little guys,' he thought, amused at the thought that people would put themselves through this. His humor was cut short as the hallway door was slid open, and the student's around him immediately ran out. Cyborg was one to sleep in, but since he knew he had no choice anyways, followed suit.

'Blacksmithing, bah,' he told himself. 'The last person who needed to know this stuff was in Camelot. Why would this be taught in a martial arts temple?'

The room he entered contained large pots and conveyers, for melting and shaping. The walls were of brick, and pitch black with soot. Every square inch of the room had the following: An iron podium with anvil, for forging and shaping, a fireplace with hot burning coals and rocks, a pot of water to cool metal, and a box with various clamps, hammers, and files. All around him, Cyborg saw the students, already at the crack of dawn, pounding and melting, grinding and cooling. He was stunned, to say the least. Even Cyborg himself didn't get up at dawn to work on his gadgets, even his prized car.

"You, Terran," one of the supervising monks said to Cy, "standing there won't get anything done. Find a workplace and get to creating."
Cyborg, shrugged, "Ah, no thanks, I really think this will do anything for me. Can't I just do a fighting course or something?"
"The master ordered you to be here. Would you like to be the one to tell him you refuse?" the monk raised an eyebrow.

Cyborg gulped, now wanting to screw himself over. Who knows what that Legasnouro (Light Spirit) could do to someone, especially someone only half human, "Uh, like I was saying, I'm on it."

Cyborg got to a vacant workspace, and saw to his left, a large box containing various ores and metals. 'At least I don't need to mine my own material,' he thought, and gathered some of the ore and put into a container, which he slid into the fire. After an hour, he took the container out, and flipped it upside down, sliding out a solid piece of metal, hot to the touch. 'Better remind myself not to put my hand in there,' he said softly, and took a clamp, took a hold of his metal, and dipped it into the water. Steam shot from the pot, and the hot gas hit Cyborg in the face, slightly stinging it. Afterwards, he tuned his hand into a saw, and started to slowly take off chunks of the mold. Sparks flew off his hand, and the loud grinding noise was barley heard over the pounding and grinding going everywhere else. He then turned his finger into a file and just filed at the mold.

'If it looks like I'm working, maybe they'll leave me alone,' he said to himself, sure no one else could hear him over the noise.

"On the contrary, you look like you're just goofing off."

Cyborg jumped almost out of his metal plating, to find Master Legasnouro standing over him, a cross look on his face.

"Uh, uh I was, I was just," Cyborg hesitated.
"You were just mocking the entire class with your lack of effort," said Legasnouro quietly, so he saved Cyborg the humiliation.
"It's just, why am I here? In case you didn't notice, I'm half-robot. Technology is pretty far past Blacksmithing where I'm from."

Legasnouro, walked over to the supervising monk, and appeared to say something to him. The monk bowed, and went over to a bell, and rang it.

"Class is canceled today! You are allowed to do what you please," with that, the student's put their tool away and left the room.

"Well, guess I'll call it a day too," said Cyborg, and approached the exit, until Legasnouro grabbed him, his eyes glowing, and threw him back over to the workstation.
Cyborg, with a groan of pain, stood up, furious, "You want a fight man! You came to the right place."

He was about to charge, until Legasnouro, like a bolt of silver lightning, charged him, and threw his fist just past Cyborg's head, into the brick wall, denting it.

After he saw Cyborg calm down, Legasnouro began, "You know, on this planet, you would be considered made from forbidden technology. You would be dismantled, and each piece would be turned to dust. Luckily, Princess Koriandor said to the contrary."

He took his fist out of the wall, and walked around the room, "I don't have this class because I hate technology Cyborg, I have it cause my students must learn to live on their own. This class teaches them how we made our cities, our weapons, and ourselves, with some simple tools, and our ingenuity alone." He walked over to a workplace, where a gauntlet was left by one of the students, "This gauntlet, quite a fine piece. The metal is of steel and iron. This will withstand many years. And to think, it only took patience and the will to finish," he turned to Cyborg, "what about you? Have any patience? Can you finish what you start? If you want to get out of this class, make a gauntlet, like that one."

Cyborg grumbled, still not seeing what this had to do with him, "It's just I can make this into anything. Watch, it'll take an hour tops." He changed his finger back to a file and turned to his mangled piece of metal. Legasnouro walked up to him and smacked him upside the back of his head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, "What now?"
"These," said Legasnouro, as he handed Cyborg the box of tools, "I want you to use these. You are a student, and you will work like all the others."

"I'm not like all the others!" he shouted, "I haven't been for a good chunk of my life! Someone or something decided, long ago, to take my body from me. I can never be like anybody else! But I decided, if I'm stuck this way, then I'm going to use it to my advantage. Why shouldn't I use my built-in tools even though it's unfair? Life has been pretty unfair to me!" he panted after his speech, out of breath with all the anger poured out.

Legasnouro put the toolbox down, and looked at the frustrated boy, as if all his demons had been released. "You can do what you wish," he spoke, and began to walk out of the room, "but think for a moment. Cyborg, is your body all you are? I don't know the person you were before your transformation, but would he be satisfied with just doing enough to get by?" with that he left the room. Leaving Cyborg to himself, wanting to cry for all the things he said. Cyborg looked at his metal chunk, and picked it up. After a course of five hours, he left and retired for the night.

The next day, the students returned to their work in the shop. The supervising monk looked around, and noticed Cyborg missing. He immediately reported to Legasnouro, who went to Cyborg's room, where he was missing.

"Send out a search party, bring him back in one piece, and to me directly," he told the supervising monk, who bowed and went to relay the orders.

After two hours, Legasnouro was in his room, performing some documentation, when he was interrupted.

"Master, we have the rouge student out here. Shall I send him in?" asked one of his subordinates.

"Yes," he simply stated, and turned to find the half-robot in a peculiar fashion. Cyborg was brought to him, all covered in dirt and soot. He was carrying a pickaxe, one of many kept on monastery grounds. Legasnouro, who looked him over, kept his utter shock to himself.

"Well, care to explain what you were doing outside the monastery with that?" he said pointing to the pickaxe.
"Well, I was looking for a mine, I figured you guys had one around here somewhere, but I had no luck. That's about when your scouts subdued me and brought me here."
Legasnouro could no longer hide his emotion, and showed a pleasing smile. "Very well," he said, "you can find one a mile from here. It's a below ground mine, where we get all our material for the class. I give you one day, I suggest you use it well."

Cyborg, after a half-hour of walking, found the mentioned mine. He followed the dug path, until it ended a dead end. Cyborg took the pick, and began with all his body, mining at the wall, looking for creatable material. "I'll show them," he said to himself, in the silence of his personal mine, "I'm more than this, more than anything they could ever see me as! I've been a robot, and a Titan for a while, but that's only my surface. He wants a gauntlet eh? I'll do ten times better than that!"

Legasnouro would check on the class once every day, looking at the student's diligence. Unbeknownst to him, however, and the supervisors, Cyborg would stay beyond normal hours, still hammering and pounding, melting and cooling. He would not be denied, not until he had complete satisfaction. Cyborg, in his off time, spent hours in the monastery archives, looking at various topics; topics in his study, included history, weapon design, banned technology, and several books made by the monks of the monastery. The monks, seeing an overabundance of effort, after such defiance, decided to share their concerns with Legasnouro.

"Master, I ask you consider this an omen, of sorts. That machine could be up to something dangerous," asked Cyborg's supervising monk.
"Don't concern yourself consul, he has done only what is in his bounds. Besides, it's kind of refreshing to have such renewed commitment," replied Legasnouro.
"Master, that Cyborg is a craft of war! He shouldn't just be free to his own will. He could make something dangerous with his knowledge."

"Consul," said Legasnouro, standing up and walking up face-to-face to his subordinate, "I assure you, if something goes wrong, he will fall by my hand personally," he sat himself back down. "He may be an artifact of forbidden technology, but it is something brought upon him. That boy has been looking for a way to redeem himself for a very long time. I will grant him that chance, but in the end, it is up to him to see past his failings, or even improve upon them."

One week passed since the "new and improved Cyborg" began his work. Things were pretty routine for that given time. On the eighth day, the supervisor came to Legasnouro's chamber once again.

"Master," he said, "the Cyborg has asked for an audience. He has brought something to show. He calls it his 'exam project'."
Legasnouro, who was in the middle of his daily meditation, opened his eyes and responded, "Really? Well, let him pass Consul."

Cyborg was let inside, carrying a long, wooden box. He had a smile; one could look at it as a smile of joy or sarcastic revenge.

"Well," said Legasnouro, "please come in," as Cyborg came up to him, "No, please, sit with me, like this."
"Uh," said Cyborg, his face now showing confusion, "I don't think my joints can bend that way, but I'll try." After some loud noises of compression and gyration, he managed to sit Indian style as well.
"So, you call this your 'exam project'. All I see is a box," said Legasnouro.
Cyborg, sensing the sense of humor in his words, responded, "It's inside the box. You wanted a gauntlet, but I couldn't settle for just enough to get by."

He took off the lid, and offered the box to the master monk. Legasnouro accepted the box, and peered inside. Cyborg, quietly watching, saw the expression of pure shock, as Legasnouro, picked himself off the floor. He took out the contents of the box, an elegant halberd. Comprised of a bronze shaft, and crescent blades of steel. The spear tip was also steel, and contained a small round topaz in the middle. The shaft was decorated with a wrap of bronze leaves. In the middle, Legasnouro noticed an inscription. It read simply: Satisfied? Cyborg.

Legasnouro, after one last look at the craftsmanship, slowly chuckled to himself, which soon exploded into an almost boastful laugh. Cyborg, failing to see what's funny, joined in the merriment. After a minute of such positive release, the two took their seats on the floor.

"Well," said Legasnouro, looking Cyborg dead in the eye, "I haven't seen one of these made in a long time. The design is at least 200 years ago, back when people were making these in bulk."
"Yeah," said Cyborg, a bright smile on his face, "I did some research. The leaves and jewel are my personal touch. A little ornamenting from the Earth culture."
"It's a shame this won't be seen in the heat of battle. A truly fine piece of weaponry."
"Back on Earth, that would just be a piece of art. We don't have need of such primitive weaponry."
"Primitive isn't the word I would use. We use 'simple' weapons because we decided long ago technology is too powerful to use for bloodshed."
"That's a problem, considering what I've heard of this Godstar."
"That's a problem we on Tamaran are still trying to correct. It does not concern you."
"It doesn't have to be that way. The gang and me have the most experience with Slade. We could help, just give us the chance."
"Even with your experience, it might still not be enough," Legasnouro turned his head, almost in shame, "it almost wasn't enough last time we brought it down." He stood up, "Anyways, you have surprised me and overjoyed me. You have officially passed. If you wish, you can move freely about the monastery. Do what you wish." Legasnouro turned away from Cyborg, who had only one last thing to say.

"So if I want," he said, "I can continue doing stuff in the workshop?"

Legasnouro smiled, his face hidden from the young man, "If that is your wish, I will allow it. Get some rest, and reflect on what you have learned. All creations in the workshop, start with a vision, and a clear mind will always create something wonderful."

Cyborg picked himself up and exited the room. When he shut the door, he muttered to himself 'Thank You.'


Alright, Part One of Part 9! If you want to see somebody's personal chapter first, let me know, although Robin is the last one no matter how many requests I get. Sorry folks, that's just the way it's gonna be. And by personal Chapter, I also include Terra and Beast Boy. You haven't forgotton about them have you? Good.

By the way, since you guys know Teen Titans is from Japan, I thought I'd do a promo for a new Anime I just bought. It's a classic series, one that put GAINEX on the map. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is chock full of all the stuff GAINEX is famous for: extreme drama, conversational topics, eternal romance, and heart-stopping episodes. Anyway, if you like animation, I would recconmend it.

"Thank You!" To The Following

ssjEasterBunny
Figured it would be appropriate to thank you first. Hope I answered you question. As for your latest: No Cy/Raven planned. I always figured them as parent figures for the team. I see them as the people in the team you go to for advice. They are the oldest, and in my opinion, they put others before themselves. By the way, if you read the earlier chapter ends, you'd see what KPAAF means. I'll put it up again.

Marchwardens Blue Eyed S
Hi agian Ruby! Glad you liked Robin's speach. Robin may be the most chiseled, but it can also be one of the most vernerable. There's more of Robin I want to explore, a side we don't really see on the show. Keep Reading!

DIWaRrIa
As always, you bring renewed confidence with your review. Thanks so much!

clueless90
Thank you for your kind words.

Black Dawn
Wow, that's a big complement. I'd of figured there are some people that read it and say "What the Hell is this Crap!? I can't believe my eyes touched it!" Thanks, and I hope you keep enjoying it.

Caj Valivian
Your words are kind! Thank You!

Aeris-Raven
Aww shucks mam, you're making me red! (You are a girl right? I kinda guessed, but just checking) I'm glad to have such support. Luckily, this week I wasn't too tied down with work, so I wrote two chapters in one week.

Keep the Passion of Anime Alive Forever! (KPAAF) cya next time :D