Sorry it took a while to get this chapter out. With school starting back up I'm not going to have as much free time as I did before to update. But I'll do my best. In the mean time, here's chapter six.
CH.6
Robin opened his eyes and the world around him came into focus. He looked around and noticed he was high up off the ground. He then that he, Cyborg, and Lee were tied up and hanging from a crane like machine over a large vat. He tired to move but to no avail. Soon he figured out he couldn't reach his belt and decided to try and wake his comrades. He shook around somewhat, neither of them stirred. He then decided to swing his head back bumped his with Lee's, who at that point snapped awake. He blinked and looked around and came to the same conclusion that Robin had.
"Robin-San"?
"Yes Lee"? There was a small pause.
"We are, as you say, screwed aren't we"? Robin sighed and looked around for anything that might help them escape.
"Well, unless we find a way out of here, where ever here is, I think that may just be the case". Just then they heard Cyborg groan and he shook his head around.
"Whoa. What just happened"?
"No idea", said Robin. "Last thing I remember is facing Ream, he took that plate off his face, and that's it".
"Whoever he is, it is obvious he is not entirely human", observed Lee. Just then Orion entered and walked over to a nearby control counsel. He turned a small switch and the vat cover opened to reveal a neon yellow liquid. He silently picked up a short bar and threw it in, it immediately disintegrated. Satisfied he walked up to a small platform so he was almost level with the Titans.
"Why my friends, how did you ever end up in this awful situation"?
"Beats me Orion, we're as confused as you are", joked Cyborg. Orion smirked.
"Monster", remarked Lee.
"Oh come now, lets not begin with name calling", said Orion waving his hand.
"What else should we call someone who evilly manipulates and controls a beautiful young girl", asked Robin. Orion didn't answer. Cyborg instead took the floor.
"What really confuses me, is if you can make her do just about anything, why don't you just make yourself King or something". Orion laughed out loud and paced back and fourth.
"What you don't seem to realize is that I'm barely doing anything to influence Koriand'r". They all looked puzzled at this. How could he not, why else would Starfire be acting so unlike herself? "You see every mind works exactly as the others do, whether it be Tamaranian or Human. Both, lust for power and as humble as your Starfire is, she too is being seduced by power's charm. If I became king, that would mean her power would be divided between the two of us. Hence she would refrain form overusing it. But in this way, absolute power is hers while I am there to, guide her shall we say".
"What about the king", asked Robin.
"Ah yes, his majesty. Well for now he is out of the picture. And I'm afraid her highness will be to preoccupied to be concerned in the matter".
"What is all this about", spat Lee.
"It about DESTINY, my Samurai. It's about the birth of a new galactic order. This universe is all messy and sloppy. I intend to make it organized, to make it neat. Under a her highness' rule; there will no longer exist war, starvation, scattered worlds, or"-
"Freedom", interjected Robin. "In this perfect universe of yours, I doubt that there will be much room form free thinking". Orion sighed and slowly nodded.
"In order to protect others from themselves, some freedoms must be surrendered. I'm sure our future Queen will see reason".
"Many would rather die than live under such tyranny", said Lee.
"THEN DIE THEY SHALL", Orion lost his grip and his hair stood on end. He cooled down and fixed his hair. "Though I must commend your for lasting this long. Alexi usually gets the job done the first time. And had I not gotten a little tip of your raid of my house, security would have been even more feeble then it was when you attacked". A horrible feeling spread through Lee, the other two looked around at him and they all thought the same thing.
"Good help is so scarce isn't it", Orion made sure all of this sank in. He then moved back over to the console. "Well, it think its time I finally got rid of you and returned to my life". He tapped the panel and they slowly began to descend into the vat. "Give my regards to oblivion". With that he walked out the door, then randomly poked his head back in the room.
"Don't you wonder why us bad guys always leave at these critical moments? Oh well". The door slid shut and the room was silent for a moment. They got closer and closer to the vat and began to wonder how much it would hurt to slowly be disintegrated. They were still a few feet from their demise when all of a sudden the crane stopped; surprised they looked over and saw that Aurora had stopped the machine. She moved them over to the right and lowered them to the floor. She walked over and broke their energy chains with her eye beams. They got up and pushed past her. Utterly perplexed by their lack of gratitude she after them.
"What is wrong"? Robin glanced at Lee who nodded. Robin and Cyborg left the room while Lee walked back over to Aurora. She was about to repeat her question when he quickly removed a green needled and stuck it in her neck. She gasped and fell to the floor, Lee bent down and propped her against the wall. She looked around franticly.
"Lee, why have you immobilized me"? She was paralyzed from the neck down. He knelt down in front of her with a very unpleasant look.
"You betrayed us".
"WHAT? What do you mean? I did no such thing"!
"LIAR"! Lee slammed his fist against the wall next to her head. "You gave us a small advantage and then informed Orion of our potential operation"! She was shaking her head.
"No, no, I-I did not", she started breathing heavily.
"If there is one thing in this world or any other that I will not tolerate it's a traitor. Just ask a girl named Terra". He reached over and removed the needle from her neck. She felt the power to move her body returning as Lee stood back up. "We will save Star-San from Orion's clutches and then leave this world. For your own safety, I suggest you do not follow". Aurora stared at him for a moment; he looked down at her with nothing but cold fury. She sputtered, and then started to cry. Lee turned swiftly and walked out of the room. Aurora remained there sobbing for hours before finally regaining her strength.
JOINING RAVEN AND BEAST BOY............................
They had landed their ship near an industrial section of the city where giant factories seemed to labor on and on. Raven and Beast Boy stood atop a large cliff overlooking the massive manufacturing plants. Raven removed a small screen form her waist and read over it. Beast Boy climbed out of the flyer and walked up next to her. It was a tad windy up on the high slope, and at times got strong. Beast Boy first focused on the line of buildings below. Then he found he couldn't help but look at Raven. The way her dark lilac hair moved in wind. She rarely smiled, but when she did she actually looked quite pretty.
'WHOA'! Thought Beast Boy. 'I don't know where these thoughts came from, but I should totally just ignore them. I mean she's only my friend, and she doesn't even like me that way. Does she'?
Raven finished looking over the pad and pointed to the first plant.
"We should begin with this one, its mentioned several times in this overview so I think we may find some answers".
"Again, what about Robin and the others", asked Beast Boy.
"We don't know what we're up against. We need to know what Orion is up to and do what is necessary to stop it. Then we will find them". She noted BB's look of disapproval. "Don't worry, Robin, Cyborg, and Lee can take care of themselves. I'm more than positive they're okay". Beast Boy nodded and followed Raven down towards the plant. As they drew nearer they heard a humming coming form behind them. They ducked behind a large rock and saw a small ship fly past them and land before the factory they had chosen. Peering over their barricade they watched as a line of people came down the ship's ramp. First in line they recognized at once, Starfire. They found many things strange about her; she no longer carried herself as someone in need of company, but of someone proud and arrogant. Not only was her posture strange, but what she wore was also startling. Her royal gown was a dark blue with shades of black mixed in.
"What do you think", asked Raven.
"I think we should see whats up, something is definitely weird with Star", replied Beast Boy. Raven nodded and they continued on. They came within a few hundred feet of the building and Raven decided to levitate her and Beast Boy in through a window to avoid being seen. She landed them on a narrow catwalk and they took in their surroundings. Inside the plant was enormous, automated stations performed duties at almost breakneck speed. They both let out a soft "Whoa" and heard what sounded like marching off in the distance. They moved swiftly along the catwalk passing cranes, robotic arms, and containers that held molten steel. As they moved forward the marching sound got louder and clearer. Finally they reached a small balcony area and carefully peered over the railing. What they saw made them gasp and rub their eyes in disbelief.
Thousands, tens of thousands of android soldiers marched in orderly patterns. They looked back at the factory behind them and suddenly understood. Raven's mind flashes back to when they first arrived on Tamaran.
FLASH BACK—They were being led down a long hallway towards the dinning room. As they went they passed a man carrying a green lit pad. When Robin asked what it was, the man replied that it was a bill that Starfire had just authorized. END FLASHBACK
What Starfire had signed was undoubtedly a bill which gave the go ahead for the manufacturing of this army. They both observed the androids; they were at least seven feet tall, were gunmetal gray, they each carried a large blaster rifle. They glanced directly below them and saw the androids coming out from the assembly line. There seemed to be no end to them, they just kept coming and coming.
"We should go, we have to find Robin", said Raven. They took one last look and when they turned came face to face with Ream. They both scared, but Raven was petrified. She had already had an encounter with this guy from which she couldn't sleep a wink. They tried to get up into their battle stances but Ream stuck out his hand and they both froze. Eyes fixed on Ream he turned and motioned for them to follow him.
"Come with me now", he said imperiously. To Raven and Beast Boy's surprise, they were actually following him. It would seem Ream had taken control of their bodily functions. He led them over to a set of stairs and once they reached the bottom he took them over to where Starfire, Orion, Liman, and other royal officials stood watching the army. Beast Boy and Raven then fell to the ground as Ream walked up to Starfire and knelt before her, she looked down at him and motioned for him to get up. Regaining control of themselves Raven and BB got up and stared at Starfire.
"What do you wish done with them highness", inquired Ream really directing his question to Orion. Who glanced at Starfire with a twisted smile. Starfire turned her head at Raven and Beast Boy, who were giving her looks of pleas for help. Not moving form her spot Koriand'r looked at them uncaring.
"Get rid of them", she said softly and she turned back to her on growing army. Raven and Beast Boy both fell to the ground in utter despair, and they were dragged away by two droid soldiers.
Outside they were instructed to stand still while the droids aimed their rifles at them. They did as they were told and the droids let loose a volley of laser fire which no ordinary person could survive. When the dust cleared they saw not two bodies lying on the ground, but a large black shield surrounding Raven and Beast Boy, who morphed into a T-Rex and chomped down the two surprised droids. He then went to a hawk form and joined Raven in the sky and back to their flyer.
ELSEWHERE....................
Aurora walked inside her room in the palace and flopped down on the bed. This was without a doubt the worst day of her life. The one person in maybe the whole galaxy that she falls for thinks she betrayed them. Now he never wants to see her again, and all she has now is Orion. She got up and made her way to her closet. She decided that she no longer owed anything to Orion. She was going to find Lee and make him see the truth. She walked over to the closet and turned on the light. She jumped back and screamed for she saw Orion standing there with a sour look. As he came out of the closet she moved backwards towards her door. She could tell she was getting closer to her door when she felt that she backed into someone, Knowing full well who it was she turned around and saw Ream blocking her way. Orion walked up behind her.
"Don't you just hate staring death in the face. Or at least half of it", he gestured to Ream's facemask. Aurora tried her hardest not to look scared out of her wits. "So, where's you new friend", asked Orion. She looked down at her feet and sniffled.
"He and the others have gone, Lee believes I betrayed them", she said sobbing.
"My what a terrible misconception on his part", replied Orion shaking his head. "Must have been something I said". Aurora turned around more angered then scared.
"It was you? You told them of my false treachery"? Orion grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the other side of them room.
"There is no false treachery here, you may have not them. But there is still me". She gulped and confirmed Orion's suspicions. "How else could they have known how to enter my villa? I'm sure Alexi didn't tell them". Aurora remained silent. "My dear, I am so disappointed in you. You have broken the almost magical bond between master and apprentice". Aurora now figured there was no point in trying to hide.
"You are no master of mine. You have destroyed my life, turned her highness into a puppet, and are about to plunge the galaxy into an interstellar war. You are nothing but a SOULESS AND EVIL MONSTER"! He grabbed her by the neck and held her up against the wall, her feet dangled off the ground. His eyes glowed red, as did his fists. Behind his back he unfolded his arm blade.
"Do you know what nemesis means"? Aurora struggled against his vice like grip. "A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent. Personified in this case by a horrible count. ME"! He reached around and stuck the blade into her chest. She looked up at the ceiling with her mouth open, and gasped as her life began to fade away. He detached the blade from his arm and stepped back. She was left pinned up on the wall while she felt her life leaving her. He turned around and walked out with Ream.
"Stick around, this should get interesting". She closed her eyes and muttered what seemed like her last words;
"Lee, I-I'm s-sorry".
Sorry about this but I its getting late. Like I said before I wont have as much free time on my hands. But hey, who does. So what do think will happen next? I'm as eager as you might be. R&R.