These author notes really lengthen the story. It all adds up to like four hundred extra words, just from useless stuff that is completely unecessary to the rest of the story. I'm having an okay break. Got all the gifts that I asked for pretty much, and may have more coming to me. I'm swearing off poker for a month, due to the bad playing skill of myself. I'll take a look at how I play, and change my style completely. As for anything else delaying my update, I can't think of much. Christmas, cards... I guess that's all that was keeping me from writing this. I so wanted to do this with my homework a couple nights ago, but I didn't. Well, hope you all had a good holiday. Read on.

I do not own Teen Titans...

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Chapter 12: The Hardest Fight

Starfire's View

She had left the tower, Robin in her arms, shortly after Taen had left. She did not think that they would be very far behind but, even flying extremely fast, Starfire didn't get any closer to Taen. He never even came into view, even when they reached their destination. Starfire began to descend to the ground. She tightened her grip on Robin and smiled down at him, then sped down ward. They reached the ground quickly, and Starfire released Robin down on his own, then she landed herself.

Robin began to look around, and Starfire did the same. Taen was no where in view. Either he had gone ahead, or stopped somewhere. She stared at the hole in the wall in front of her, a dark cave with the opening lit from the weak sunlight. Robin waved an arm in front of him to get her moving, and Starfire lit her hand up with a starbolt. Then she walked into the cave slowly. She didn't want to be surprised by any of Slade's robots, nor by anything else that may be lurking in the cave,

"I do not see our friend Taen. Perhaps we are in the wrong cave," Starfire suggested. Robin gave a small chuckle. "I don't think so Starfire, take a look," Robin pointed ahead of them. The cave had suddenly split into three sections. It looked distinctly man made. "I spoke too soon," She said with a shrug. They stopped at the middle one, when suddenly two metal walls dropped down on each side of them. Then they were hurdled forward, Starfire's starbolt firing in a random direction as Robin landed painfully on top of her. Robin got up slowly, then helped her up as they gazed around the room.

The room had been banged up pretty badly. It smelled as if something had recently burned. Starfire looked for any signs of one of her friends, but spotted something else. "Look!" Starfire yelled, pointing down on the ground near some wreckage. She rushed over to a person on the ground, fearing Taen or somebody had been injured. Robin joined her side quickly, and they looked down at a unclothed man. "Who is this?" She asked. Robin bent down, taking a finger and wiping some purple slime off the man's forehead. "Plasmus," He muttered before walking past. Starfire ran to catch up.

"This is good for us, no?" She said to Robin. The Boy Wonder was walking ahead, kicking aside wreckage and in obvious thought. She could only assume that if one of Slade's best fighters had been taken down, then they must be doing fairly good. Starfire vaguely wondered which one of her friends had managed to beat Plasmus, but she was forced to concentrate as Robin said, "A little light, Star." She quickly made another starbolt to light up the area dimly, and they soon entered a narrow corridor. After a short walk, they exited it and came face to face with...

"Beast Boy! Cyborg!" Starfire floated over Robin and into a lit area, pouncing on her friends and hugging them tightly. Both Beast Boy and Cyborg gasped for air as she let them go, then gave her matching grins as they stared at her. "They got you out! Way to go Robin and-" "It's just me..." Robin cut off Beast Boy's congratulation words as he gloomily walked into the room. It was quite apparent that the Boy Wonder was still in deep thought, and it was no doubt about Slade and their current situation.

"Where's Taen?" Cyborg asked. Robin shrugged. "I assumed he would be here with you guys, seeing as he came ahead of us," He answered. Beast Boy and Cyborg exchanged awkward glances, and Starfire had a feeling that they knew more than they were letting on. "What is it?" She asked. Beast Boy nervously scratched his head. "Well... Cyborg needs to mention something!" He said, slapping Cyborg in the back. "Hey! Uh... The right path back there? The one you clearly didn't end up on? It's where Raven is, and she hasn't made it. We're thinking maybe, just maybe, Taen mighta took it too..." Cyborg said slowly. Robin didn't answer. The news just seemed to darken the Boy Wonder's solemn look.

"Any sign of Slade or Sai?" Robin asked. Once again, the changeling and the half human exchanged glances before both shrugging at their leader, who then began to pace the room. "This has to be a part of Slade's plan. We know that almost everything happens as he plans it. Has anyone bothered to go down that way?" Robin asked quickly, pointing to their left, which would be Raven's special right passage. "Star, go check it out," Robin ordered. Starfire flew off, hearing them speak quietly. "Hey! How'd you know we didn't check there?" Beast Boy's voice said. "I didn't... you just old me," Robin replied. She smiled.

Starfire flew down what was easily the longest part of the cave, and came to a bright light ahead of her. She stared straight ahead and saw him. Sai. He was covered by some sort of bright wall of energy. He was facing her, and Raven was no where in sight. Starfire quickly threw a starbolt at the wall of energy, but it had no effect. Sai visibly laughed at her, then waved at her. She stared at him, confused, but then quickly threw herself back as a steel door came crashing down from above, blocking her off from Sai.

Starfire turned around reluctantly and flew back to the others slowly, trying to think of what Sai would be doing over there. If that's the path that Raven took, and Taen too perhaps, then what if Sai had them both! 'Oh! If my friends are hurt, he will pay!' She thought angrily as she sped up, trying to reach the others quicker now. Starfire got to them soon, landing on her feet as she took one last glance at the path behind her, wishing that she could do more to help her friends.

"What's the news Star?" Cyborg asked. She shook her head. "This is not so good. I saw Sai, and he was behind a wall of energy, and I didn't see Raven or Taen, and I fear for their lives and-!" "Star!" Cyborg yelled, grabbing her. The alien girl stopped chatting away and calmed down, taking a few deep breaths. She sat down on a rock, her eyes darting around the room, as if she was hoping to Taen and Raven sitting in a corner. She did not so- "I guess all we can do is wait..." Robin said. She sighed sadly, staring back down the path where Sai was as she wondered if her friends were still alive.

Taen's View

Taen had a strange journey over to the cave. First, he had been help up by a crime spree breaking out in the city. He not only had to take down Killer Moth and Fang, but he also was forced to chase down Red X. That guy really liked to mess with the Titans, and he got away... again. Then Taen got on track, perhaps just behind Robin and Star. He got there as several metal walls were lifting into the air, and he was now trying to choose which path to take.

The left was a blank. He knew not to take it. So it was the middle or the right. He began to take the middle, when a metal wall slammed down in front of it. Then the one on the left shut right after. Taen smiled. "I'll take that as a hint Slade," He said to a camera up in the corner. Taen began to take the right path slowly, trying to picture Slade smiling about this, though he had never seen the mastermind's face. Taen was playing right into his hands, but he really had no choice. He couldn't teleport if he couldn't see where to go, so this was it.

Taen walked the path cautiously. He was expecting a trap. If Slade specifically wanted him to take a path, then there must have been some reason behind it. Soon he came to a room with water on the ground, and he saw something familiar on the floor. Taen walked up to it, bending down to the grumbling piece of computer chip. "Hey Overload, looks like we finally got you," He said to it. "Overload..." The chip said. Taen laughed and continued walking. But he stopped as he saw what was ahead of him. A large energy wall. Taen felt a presence behind him, and turned around quickly, fist flying. But he stopped as he saw who it was. "Raven?"

It was her alright. His goth girlfriend was standing behind him, staring at him with a blank expression on her face. Taen smiled for a brief moment, but it quickly faded as he noticed that something was horribly wrong. He could sense another person inside her head, and this person definitely did not like Taen. He looked up into her eyes. This was Sai's doing, he knew it. This was what his rival had been planning the entire time. 'Probably in case he didn't kill you in that dream' Taen thought. "Sai, you are an idiot..." He whispered.

Raven's fist shot forward quickly, hitting Taen in the face. He began to fly back wards with the force of the punch, barely managing to turn his movements into a back flip. He landed on his feet, his hand on his nose. Raven's energy could really add force to her attacks. It's a wonder she didn't do hand to hand combat more. Taen stared at her. She hadn't moved, even after the punch. She was being controlled, but how? Taen took a step forward, but stopped as an old face appeared in front of her.

"Hello Taen, so glad that you could join us!" Sai said happily. He was obviously enjoying this little situation. Taen didn't move another inch forward. He just glared at his former friend turned pure evil. "I knew Slade made me go this way for a reason," Taen said. Sai chuckled loudly. "Of course! My master has everything planned out just the way he wants! And so far everything has gone as expected," Sai told Taen. The alien boys stared at one another before Taen slowly took his sword out. "So how is she being controlled? Another new power?" Taen asked. Sai shook his head. "No... but I can't tell you how," Sai said. Taen sighed quietly. 'Then I guess you get it beaten out of you'

Taen charged forward at Sai, slicing through the air. Sai took off up wards, and Taen stopped himself before he reached Raven. For a moment he stared into her beautiful violet eyes, but he was quickly brought back to reality as she raised his hand. "Oh shit..." He managed before a wave of dark energy blasted him. Taen stopped himself before he crashed into the rocks, looking down as he floated in the air. There was a large hole beneath him, and he could heard water rushing below. Taen gulped and floated back to the ground, looking up at Sai.

"You really are a bastard," Taen told him. Sai only laughed more. "Go get him Raven," Sai yelled down to her, tossing one of his Sai's down to her. She caught it easily, and Taen prepared himself for a fight, putting his sword away. He couldn't hurt her, he just couldn't. "Please Raven, don't do this! C'mon, don't you know me? You're boyfriend? The one who loves you more than anything. You know I can't hurt you!" Taen yelled over at the slowly advancing Raven. "That's why we chose her!" Sai yelled down as Raven flew forward quickly.

Taen jumped into the air, dodging her with ease. He turned around quickly and flew at Sai, who just floated there with a cocky smile. Taen was alerted by something out of the corner of his eye, and braced himself. Bam! Raven had flown in from the side, kicking him up and into the ceiling. He recovered quickly, teleporting out of the way as Raven blasted it with her powers. He kicked in the direction of Sai, but Raven froze him with her powers. Sai slowly floated up to him.

"We know everyone move you're planning, and we can counter it with no problem whatsoever. Why even bother trying?" Sai asked. Taen spit at him. "Because I choose to," He answered. Sai smiled, but it faded as he punched Taen in the face. Hard. Blood shot out of Taen's mouth as he was dizzied by the hit, and Raven let him go. He seemed to go towards the hard ground in slow motion, hitting it violently. "Go," He heard Sai order. Taen opened his eyes just in time to catch Raven smashing down onto him. Then she raised the sai into the air and stabbed. Taen let out a painful scream as the blade went through his hand and into the ground. He clenched his teeth in pain, looking up at Raven sadly. She climbed off slowly.

"This is going much better than I thought it would. I never thought you would actually refuse to fight her. I guess you really have changed," Sai called down to him. Taen closed his eyes, but opened them quickly as he sensed energy coming at him. His eyes widened as he saw an energy blast hurdling down, and Taen quickly used his other hand to wrench the sai out. He threw it aside and rolled, the blast hitting the ground next to him and exploding. Taen was tossed aside roughly, but he managed to get to his knees.

"Kill him," Sai ordered now. Taen looked up, only to have Raven's foot kick him under the chin. It sent him into the air, and Raven flipped over and up, her heel smashing Taen in the chest and sending him back to the ground. He bounced into the air, and Raven shot another blast of energy his way, the dark matter hitting him and sending Taen into a wall. He straightened up slowly, standing with his back to the wall and breathing heavily. Once again, Raven moved in, the sai in her hand again.

"Don't do this," He managed to say. Raven's cold eyes stared at him blankly. She raised her hands slowly, taking the sai in between her hands. Then she jabbed it forward at Taen's chest, and he barely managed to move aside, the blade now going through his shoulder and into the rock behind him once again. He clenched his teeth painfully as Raven removed the blade quickly, blood pouring out of it. She went to stab again, but this time Taen grabbed her arm. "Oh, it's a miracle! You actually touched her," Sai said and laughed. Taen gave him the quickest of looks before pushing Raven back and away from him. She sliced the air, and Taen rolled to the side, getting up and blasting at Raven. The energy hit the sai, and it was knocked over and into the hole. Taen heard it splash.

"That was my sai you idiot! Oh you're gonna pay!" Sai yelled. Raven suddenly stopped attacking, and Sai flew down to Taen. The alien began to turn and run, but suddenly jumped back with a kick, hitting Sai in the face. Then Taen flew up and grabbed Sai by the shirt, raising his hand. "Time to slap some sense into you!" Taen yelled angrily. He began to give Sai very hard slaps to the face, knocking his head back and forth. Taen let him go, but not without raising his elbow and smashing Sai on the top of the head. Sai hit the ground, getting up slowly and shaking his head.

"What was that all about?" The villain said slowly. He looked up in shock as Taen let out a cry of fury. Taen landed in front of Sai, then jumped into the air with his leg spinning around in circles. Sai was hit in the face, but quickly blocked the next kick. Taen dropped to the ground and swept his foot around, and Sai jumped over it. But then Taen got up, kicking once again and hitting Sai in the chest. Sai rolled under Taen's punch that he threw, and teleported behind Raven, grabbing her by the neck and taking out his remaining sai. He pressed it to her throat.

"One more move on me, and she dies," Sai said. Taen stopped in his tracks. Sai smiled and pushed Raven's hair aside. "This is what you wanted to know. This wire on her neck is what links her to me," Sai said. He pointed to the one of the back of his neck. "Slade made it so that their signals are connected or something, so that whoever wears the one one gets control of whoever wears the other. It's a fool proof plan," Sai said with a cruel smile. "So what do you do Taen? You can continue your fight with Raven, or just blast us both. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices Taen, you never understood that," Sai reminded him.

Taen took a moment to think. There were only a few ways to go about this situation. Unless... could it work? Taen didn't think that it would, but it was worth a shot. He raised his hand slowly, preparing to fire a shot. His hand glowed a golden color as Sai's eyes widened. "You finally seem to be learning from my ways Taen, but can you do it?" He asked. Taen let out a deep breath slowly and stared Raven in the eyes. "Yes, and I'm sorry," Taen said quietly as he took aim.

He fired the blast.

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Now this chapter I did like to write. I decided that I would end this chapter like this long before I started the story. I always like how I was gonna put the last line. I put a few lines in reference to The Matrix Revolutions. The movie is one of the things that inspired a few ideas to this. Along with Dragonball Z of course, which is where the fighting style and character ideas came from. I should really get to bed. For some reason I've been sleeping more lately. I guess I must be really exhausted for once. I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Please review. Happy New Year!

Next Chapter: Taen launches into an all out battle. Can he finally stop the still living and powerful Sai?

"With my eyes closed tight, put your knife to me"

-SinFire